COURTESY PHOTO
Photo: Front row, left to right, Carlos Vega, Patrick Pang, Will DeMayo. Back row, Daniel Canela and Randdye Ramos.
By ANNE MARIE TOBIN
It’s a common sports cliche that it doesn’t really matter where you start, it’s where you finish that counts most.
Peabody High senior Patrick Pang is proof positive of that. Pang successfully defended his state weight championship at the 7th Annual USA Track and Field Massachusetts Scholastic Weight Throw Championship Feb. 22 at the Reggie Lewis Track and Athletic Center.
Pang overcame a slow start, but rallied with the winning throw on his sixth (and final) attempt by inches with a throw of 50-04. Xaverian junior Hayden Dillow finished second with a throw of 50 feet, just four inches shy of Pang’s mark
Pang was one of six Tanners who competed. Peabody took five of six medal positions.
Senior Will DeMayo came in third with a throw of 47-06, while senior Carlos Vega was right behind in fourth place with a throw of 45-06. Junior Randdye Ramos (43-04) and junior Daniel Canela (43-05) rounded out the top six, finishing fifth and sixth respectively.
“Patrick showed poise and competitive maturity in the come-from-behind victory,” said Peabody throw team coach Jay Smith.
On Sunday, Demayo, Vega, Ramos and Cono Ramos traveled to Providence for the annual Weightarama, one of two signature postseason events in New England leading up to the nationals.