WILLIAMSTOWN ― With the Western Mass. title on the line, the Mounties stepped up on Saturday and reclaimed their crown.
Mount Greylock boys track & field team won the WMass Division II track & field championships at Mount Greylock High School, scoring 116 points as a team. The Mounties earned key points from Ward Bianchi (javelin), Noah Klompus (pole vault) and Rafael Mellow-Bartels (two mile), each placing first in their respective events.
For the full list of results, click here.
“It’s pretty incredible,” Klompus said. “We’ve had (a few) boys teams and a ton of girls teams coming before us, winning Western Mass. so coming into this, we knew we had this legacy that we wanted to protect.
“But as our coach likes to say, every year is a new team and you can’t really compare yourself to the past years just because (you have) new people, new team, new competition, it’s a new sport… I’m just super proud of how everyone stepped up and filled in where they needed to and scored those one, two points to put us over the top.”
Greylock earned 18 individual medals, including multi-medalists Klompus, William Apotsos, Gavin Hetherington, Kofi Roberts and Knowl Stroud. The Mounties also medaled in all four team relays, illustrating not only their strength in numbers but also their versatility.
“We knew going in we were projected to be winners by a slim margin, but you never know what’s going to happen on the day, right?” Mount Greylock coach Jenna Dickinson said. “There’s going to be scratches, there’s going to be changes, there’s going to be ups and downs all around the field so we knew there was a chance, but it wasn’t a sure thing.
“They work so hard, this is such a fun team. It’s a huge team, obviously, but it really is like a big family. They work together, they push each other to be better, they compete in practices, it’s so fun.”
Mount Greylock girls and boys track & field celebrated after both teams won their respective Western Mass. Championships on May 24, 2025. Kenneth Manoj
The Mount Greylock girls team also won the Western Mass. title. To read more, click here.
Frontier’s Ben Cachiguango at the WMass Championships at Mount Greylock High School on Saturday, May 24, 2025. Kenneth Manoj
Frontier’s Ben Cachiguango headlines Red Hawks‘ performance
Frontier placed second with 81 points, led by two-time first place finisher, Ben Cachiguango. He also earned a third-place medal with the Red Hawks’ 4x400m relay team.
“It’s amazing… last year, I got injured and I couldn’t compete at this meet,” Cachiguango said. “It just means a lot to me and I’m excited for states and any other meets I go to.”
Speed is a prerequisite skill of soccer, but not one often associated with center backs — but the Red Hawks’ defender highlighted how important the time spent in the fall developing this skill helped him get to this level.
“My coach for soccer, (Evan Horton), was phenomenal,” Cachiguango said. “He had us training, running all the time and I think that really prepared me for the track season… I’ve just been building my speed, getting faster throughout the seasons and it’s worked.”
Frontier boys track & field placed second at the Western Mass Championship on May 24, 2025.Kenneth Manoj
The Red Hawks earned 12 medals altogether and three medals in the team relays, including a first-place finish in the 4x800m relay.
Cachiguango was not the only individual multi-medalist for the Red Hawks, as Julian Adams and Adrien Pazmandy picked up huge points as well.
Taconic’s Elijah Harewood at the WMass Championships at Mount Greylock High School on Saturday, May 24, 2025.Kenneth Manoj
Taconic’s two-time winner Elijah Harewood shines
Taconic’s Elijah Harewood placed first in both the 100m dash and 200m dash. He earned another medal as well on the Thunder’s 4x400m relay team with their sixth-place finish.
“Definitely a confidence booster,” Harewood said. “I don’t want to get cocky or anything. I know I’m not the fastest in the state or anything, but it definitely feels good to win and break 11 (seconds).”
Harewood missed the start of the season recovering from a broken leg suffered during the basketball season in mid-February and returning to full fitness only in April. He highlighted the work he put in with Taconic track coach Paul Phelps and his personal coach Louise Colbourne in the recovery process to get himself back on the track in time for the postseason.
”Even when I came back, I was still a little sore getting onto it, so I had to take it slow,“ Harewood said. ”But gradually I increased how much I could do, how much weight I would put on it and how fast I was going. So over time, it definitely got back rolling.”
