Angel Feliz has been a force on the track and on the field since his freshman year, but he put it all together in his final Division I meet, winning individual titles in the 100 meters (11.06 seconds), 200 meters (22.27) and long jump (21-9¼), while anchoring the second-place 4×100 relay. His effort helped lead the Concord Crimson Tide to the Division I track and field crown, Concord’s first title in the sport in 36 years.
Feliz was already recognized as one of the top sprinters and jumpers in D-I, but still went above and beyond in his senior season. Entering the D-I state meet, Feliz was seeded first in the 100, but was ranked third in both the 200 and long jump and came out with victories.
Not only was the senior a prolific point scorer for the Tide, he also stepped up to become a strong leader and role model, especially for a talented and relatively young team.
“He’s grown up more this year than the previous three years combined,” Concord Head Coach Hayden Daly said. “He’s worked harder this year. He’s more focused this year.”
Feliz put in a lot of extra time this season with Assistant Coach Kyle Brown, who works with the sprinters and relays, and assistant Colin Brown, who works with the jumpers and sprinters.
“My mindset was this was my senior year and I wanted to go out with a bang. I was so close to being a state champion three years in a row. I needed to work hard and make all four years pay off,” Feliz said. “I felt a little more weight. I was a really big role model for the freshmen and the sophomores. I really needed to do my best to show them how to work hard and how to achieve goals.”
After four years of hard work of competing at the D-I meet, Feliz finally achieved his ultimate goal of being a champion. Despite top finishes in the long jump (fifth in 2013, third in 2014 and fifth in 2015), the 100 (fourth 2014, second 2015) and 200 (fourth in 2014), qualifying for Meet of Champions every year and qualifying for New Englands in the 100 and long jump twice (he finished as high as fourth in the 100 in 2014), individual titles eluded him.
Feliz also achieved his goal of running a sub-11 seconds in the 100, clocking a blistering time of 10.81 (the fastest time in the state so far this season) at the Nashua North Invitational.
“I was so excited. I was working so hard to go sub-11 seconds,” said Feliz of what he says is the proudest individual moment of his track career.
Feliz will compete in as many of his events as he can at the Meet of Champions and a top six finish there will earn him a spot at New Englands. At this time, Feliz’s plan after graduation is to attend Keene State and run for its track program and then transfer to a D-I school.