Bulldogs impress at MSTCA Decathlon

In a sign of continued growth for the program and improved roster versatility, the Canton High boys track team sent a trio of athletes — juniors Mark McDonough, Ruairi Ritson and Sam Vail — to compete at the MSTCA Decathlon held Monday and Tuesday, June 5 and 6.

Sam Vail, Ruairi Ritson and Mark McDonough competed at last week’s state decathlon.

It marked the first time in over a decade that the Bulldogs were represented at the meet, and all three were up to the challenge, according to head coach Brian Gotsell.

On the first day of competition, the boys competed in five events: the 100-meter dash; the high jump, long jump, discus, and 400 meters.

Ritson had a phenomenal day, heaving the discus 97 feet, 6 inches to finish eighth overall in the event while posting an impressive time of 12.68 seconds in the 100m. McDonough’s best mark of the day was in the discus, where he had a best throw of 77 feet, eight inches, while Vail had a strong showing in the 400m with a time of 60.81 seconds.

On the second day, the boys competed in the final five events: 110m hurdles, triple jump, javelin, shot put, and 1,500 meters. McDonough and Vail both had career-best throws in the javelin with distances of 124’6” and 116 feet, respectively, and Ritson placed 11th overall in the shot put with a throw of 36 feet, 1.25 inches.

In the final event, all three Canton athletes ran career bests in the 1,500m, led by Vail, who took fifth in the event with a time of 4:48.83.

When the points were tallied, Ritson finished with 3,896 points to place 37th overall; Vail scored 3,509 points to finish 57th; and McDonough earned 2,821 to place 74th.

Gotsell said all three performers represented Canton proudly at the season-ending competition. “It’s tough to compete in 10 events over two days and Ruairi, Sam and Mark were up for the challenge,” he said. “It was a great way to cap off our season and I am excited that all these athletes are coming back next year.”

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Posted by Mike Berger on Jun 16 2023. Filed under High School, Sports. Both comments and pings are currently closed.