LYNN — From sprints to the mile, javelin to the high jump, Tuesday had it all.

All five high schools were well-represented at Manning Field as the Lynn All-City Track and Field Championships were off and running. 

The Tigers pounced — twice. Lynn Tech’s boys (133 points) and girls (159) teams were crowned repeat champions.

Lynn Mayor Jared C. Nicholson kicked off the event and spoke to student-athletes, many of whom were competing in their final events at Manning Field.

“Lynn is an amazing city, it’s an ambitious city, it’s a resilient city, and thanks to you all, I’m confident in saying that it is a fast city,” he said. “That’s important because life is fast. The world moves fast. You’re all going to be ready for that because you know how to compete. You know how to work together. You know how to come together and push each other to be better because at the end of the day, we’re all one city.”  

From there, coaches Tristan Smith (St. Mary’s) and John Hogan (Tech) presented scholarships. A total of $5,000 was raised during a 5K event last fall with money being distributed to the following athletes: Jason Perry, Ian De La Rosa, Brandon Sok, Nicholson Fusco, Madisen McHale, Mariana De Leon, Kassandra Pena, Jazmin Rodriguez, Anyeli Vasquez, and Awan Awan. 

“They say it takes a village and it really does,” Smith said. “This is a real partnership between the track coaches, Lynn Public Schools, Manning Field, and our non-profit (All Lynn Track and Field). It takes time — from the officials to Joe Abelon. It’s a lot of moving parts to make this meet happen.”

Tech took control in the 100-meter hurdles with girls coach James Runner’s team taking first through third place, as well as fifth. Ashanti Batista (18.37), Skylah Sanchez (18.63), Vanessa Duran (19.58), and Skyla Peang (19.83) medaled.

“We’ve worked consistently all year long,” Runner said. “I kind of treat them like I’m a drill sergeant in a way. The consistency of our work ethic has been the best part of our team. They are just very competitive.”

In the boys 800-meter race, Tech’s Angel Rivera (2:07.04) crossed the finish line just ahead of Lynn English’s Rosa (2:07.39) and Darvin Kuffour (2:11.82). 

Several field events came with narrow victories, too.

Lynn Classical’s Echeme Dede threw a 44-08 in the shot put, barely escaping KIPP’s Joseph Beato’s hurl of 44-06. Beato later took home first place in the discus (139-07).

“I love the field events a lot,” said KIPP coach Keyla Betances. “I enjoy the triple and high jump. I do enjoy some of the running events, but the field events are definitely my favorite.”

In the high jump, St. Mary’s Jason Perry cleared 6-2, one inch higher than Classical’s Frederick Evans. 

Another nail-biter was the 2-mile, in which St. Mary’s John Bettencourt won with a time of 11:16.22, which was 0.5 seconds faster than KIPP’s Xavier Ortiz. 

The Classical girls came in third place overall and fourth-year coach Brendan Morris said his senior group was special.

“This year means a lot for me because these seniors were freshmen when I started,” Morris said. “This is my first full class, so it’s amazing to see how far they’ve come — from that first day on the job to now.”

The 100-meter dash had many eyes on it as everyone wanted to know: Who’s the fastest in Lynn?

On the boys side, Lynn English’s Peter Akande earned bragging rights with a time of 11.55, which was just ahead of Lynn Tech’s Tyler Brown (11.69). As for the girls, St. Mary’s Lea Deronja won in 13.22. 

Throughout the day, you could say there was a sense of togetherness, despite all five schools competing against each other. 

“The kids love it and really enjoy it; they enjoy the camaraderie with the other schools,” said Lynn English coach Brenda Martin. “This is the type of sport where you can root everyone on.”

Smith couldn’t have agreed more.

“Ending at Manning, with a championship-style meet featuring multiple teams, I think it really makes it special,” Smith said. “I think it’s really special. We’re all the home team today and I think there’s something to be said for that.”