Peabody High has a long history of excellence when it comes to track. Season after season, the Tanners can always be counted on to raise the bar.
But this past winter season may have been one of the most memorable in the storied history of the Tanners’ indoor track program.
Meet after meet, the story was the same – another school record smashed, many of which had stood for years.
Alex Jackson broke his own record in the shot put and was part of a record-setting shot relay team along with Jackson O’Brien and Areno Saint-Victor.
Throw Coach Jay Smith said, “Alex is a once-in-a-generation athlete. He’s broken three or four records that are more than 50 years old. That’s one in two or three generations. Along the way, he’s also crunched a bunch of 25- to 30-year-old records. He is an uncommon talent.”
Evan Bedard established new marks in the long jump, triple jump, long jump relay – with Riley Michaud and Juan Rivera – and the 4×200 relay with Michael Murphy, Tyler Rappold, Henry Sawyer, and Michael Murphy.
“Evan’s had an incredible jumping season, but he’s also had an incredible running season,” Jump Coach Dan Harris said. “That was something he never did, but that was demanded of him.”
Declan Smith broke the school record in the 800 and 1000. He also ran the second-fastest indoor mile in school history.
“In the history of the indoor program, Declan is arguably the most versatile runner ever,” Peabody Coach and Peabody Athletics and Boston College Hall of Famer Fernando Braz said.
Peyton Smith established new marks in the 55 and 60 hurdles.
On the girls’ side, Makayla Kokonezis broke records in the pentathlon and, with teammates Brooke Martin and Maya Sutton, broke the record in the girls’ long jump relay.
Harris credits much of Kokonezis’ success to her willingness to take on a multi-dimensional role.
“We’ve all become more flexible. For my first few years here if you did the hurdles, that’s what you did. That’s over now, it’s all for the team,” Harris said. “Like Declan, Makayla can’t just be a jumper. She’s the same way in that she loves multiple events. It’s nice to see the kids are starting to get it and asking to do different things.”
Peabody sent 16 athletes to the New Balance Indoor Nationals last month. Two Tanners finished in the top 20. Jackson finished third in the shot put and sixth in the weight throw, earning All-America honors in each event. Bedard finished 16th in the long jump. While he didn’t place, Declan Smith set a PR in the 800, breaking the school record.
Braz said that while the Tanners have sent up to 21 or 22 kids over the last 20 years, the group may have had the deepest talent.
“It’s not the largest group, but I would say that this group is probably the most talented,” Braz said. “Our motto this year was ‘buy in.’ I think that’s what has transpired. We as coaches and athletes said everyone is going to be multi and every coach is going to coach a different discipline. We thought that this was a special class so we were going to have everyone buy into that. This is our most talented and certainly our most committed.”
Moisse Irizarry ran two years of track for Braz while at Peabody High. He said, “It’s shocking how many kids went to nationals, but it’s not surprising considering our culture. Every year we have new kids come out and they see the program’s success and they buy in. They know that the training regimen and guidance we give them will lead to success and that showed this winter.”
A hallmark of the program’s culture is Braz’s emphasis on the importance of staying healthy, both mentally and physically.
Alexandra Palacios coaches wherever she is needed. She never ran track in high school, but is an exercise science major and provides emotional and recovery support.
“I do my best to help the athletes in recovery,” she said. “I know about the wear and tear these athletes deal with so I help them understand that taking care of their bodies is important. To me, their well-being is more important than their statistics. Knowing how they are feeling helps us know how to coach them.”
Distance Coach Pete Cirafice said this year’s indoor team featured a “tremendous”
mixture of young and senior talent.
“They are all into what they do. They’re paying attention to the instruction they get from their coaches,” he said. “The number of school records set this year is truly astonishing. It’s wonderful to see the success the kids are having.”
Girls’ team Coach and Peabody Athletics Hall of Fame member Phil Sheridan spent more than 20 years coaching cross country and indoor and outdoor track at Peabody, said he is hoping the success of the indoor season spills over into the spring season.
“We have talent across the board and one of the things we saw this winter was the way the younger kids looked up to the older kids as role models especially in terms of branching out and trying new events for the good of the team,” he said. “They have seen girls like Makayla (Kokonezis) and Alessandra (Forgione) and Maya (Sutton) try new events and will be doing more of that in the spring.”
Sheridan said the roster is loaded with “excellent athletes” and he has several freshmen the staff has already identified as mulit-event competitors.
“Lauren (Foley) and Avery (Marcus) can go up and down in terms of distance. Miler Ella (Braz) also can run a great quarter-mile. We have some kids who are just figuring out what they are capable of doing, so I am expecting great things again this outdoor season.”
Braz will be the first to deflect any credit for success.
Harris disagreed.
“It all comes from Fernando. He lays a very strong foundation that we all build upon,” Harris said. “He sets the tone. He demands excellence. It’s as simple as that.”
