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[Lynn Burke]

A Peninsula Relays moment of note occurred when Gloucester’s Hannah Varnell won a thrilling 1,600 meters contest in a time of 5:18.17, just eight-hundredths of a second faster than Tallwood’s Octavia Rinehardt. Varnell secured the race with a decisive move on the back stretch.

“I decided this is either the right move or the wrong move, because I had to hold the lead if I made that move. There was no backing off,” Varnell said.

The sophomore is no stranger to winning, having won Peninsula District titles in the 1,000 and 1,600 meters during the indoor season, but with her main emphasis in the spring sports season being soccer, she surprised even herself.

“There’s really no serious training for me in spring. I run distance maybe once or twice a week,” Varnell said. “5:18 was my PR (personal record), so when I ran that I was like, ‘Where did that come from?’ ”
-- Dan Maher