ORANGE — After a quirky and unexpected turn of events, which includes postponement of a flight to New Orleans, recent Mahar graduate Hugo Frost will compete in the New England Track and Field Championships.
To qualify, an athlete must place sixth or better in an event during the Massachusetts All-State meet. Frost placed seventh in the 400-meter hurdles. But, for various reasons, not all athletes that place in the top six accept the invitation. When that happens, and in Frost’s case, the next-best finisher is offered the invitation until an athlete accepts. With Frost placing seventh in his event, he was offered the chance to compete at the New England Championship, and he accepted.
“It was amazing, honestly,” said Frost about getting the invitation. “I didn’t expect it. I ran in the second best heat (at the All-State meet) and got second in that heat, so I didn’t even expect to get in the top eight.”
The New England Championship does not host a 400 meter hurdle run. Instead, Frost will run the 300-meter hurdles Saturday with race times beginning at 10 a.m. in Durham, N.H. Frost will compete against 34 other athletes in the event. He is seeded 19th. It is the first time Frost will run the 300 meter hurdles. He currently holds the Mahar school record in the 400 meter hurdles.
To add another quirk to Frost’s participation, Frost was able to postpone a family vacation to New Orleans to attend the meet. Originally scheduled to fly Saturday, Frost originally told those in charge of the New England meet that he could not attend. But after rescheduling a flight and now flying Sunday, Frost was able to run.
“I told (coach Kyle) Magoffin and actually pushed back my flight a day,” said Frost. “Now I can go and it’s crazy that it’s happening.”
It is unknown exactly when the last Mahar track athlete attended the New England Championship, but Frost believes it to be “a really, really long time.”
“It’s pretty amazing that I’m the one that’s doing it,” said Frost. “It’s kind of crazy.”
Frost also cited that his teammates have really helped him throughout his entire track experience. Having a team willing to help him get better ever since he began running in seventh grade up until and throughout his senior season allowed him to reach the milestone.
“I remember when I started track in seventh grade, I would look up to all the seniors and they just looked so big and they seemed like full-grown men,” said Frost. “Now, I’m that senior and I’m running these times that absolutely blow myself away. It’s great and it’s a great feeling.”
The Mahar school record in the 300 hurdles is 39.9 seconds, set during the 1990s. Frost wants to break that school record in his final meet as a high school athlete.
“I think it would be awesome to run the event for the first time and break the record,” said Frost.
Frost will be accompanied by his coach and friend/teammate Aaron Hendry.