The PA Girls Track Team lost? That just does not happen. Yet, against one of their biggest rivals, Andover High School, the girls just were not up to the task. “It was a shock for everyone,” said Captain Katie Dlesk ’03. Even though the girls did not come out on top, there were some excellent individual performances. For the field events, PA’s shotput star, Erin O’Hern ’03, won easily with her throw of 34’, compared to Andover High’s best throw of 28’3”. In the long jump, Jackie Latina ’04 jumped 15’5” for second place. Cassie Tognoni ’05 proved her talent by winning the high jump with a jump of 4’8”. PA’s performance in the 50-yard hurdles race was hindered by the absence of Anne Riordan ’03, PA’s record holder in the event. Dlesk stepped up to the line, and dominated in Riordan’s place, winning by a considerable margin with a time of 7.8 seconds. Dlesk ran next in the 50-yard dash. In an interesting twist, Dlesk came in second with 6.5 seconds, beaten by none other than her little sister, a sophomore at AHS. Latina finished third in the race, also with a time of 6.5 seconds. In the final sprint of the day, the 300, Dlesk won again, crossing the line at 39.6 seconds. Latina followed in second. Becca Howe ’06 was PA’s best finisher in the 600, her 1:39.0 placing her in third. In the 1000, Celia Alexander ’04 had a great race, coming in second and setting a pesonal record at 3:08.5. Andover High had a huge fledge of girls designated for the two mile, but Hoppy Maffione ’04 held her own against them. Maffione finished second at 13:03.3. The long distance crew was very proud of Lissie Robie ’04’s performance. Robie had planned on running the 600 and the 1000, races she usually dominates in. However, she was told just before the mile race that usual one-mile star Lizzy Fraser ’04 was sick, and that she would have to run it in her place. Despite the short warning, Robie ran an incredible race, trailing Andover High’s top runner to the end. Robie finished second by only one second, her time an amazing 5:43.1. “I think if it had all been planned better, Lissy would have won the race,” said Coach Stableford ’63. Robie was also hindered by a freak accident in her last lap when an AHS long jumper overlept,crashing into her. PA easily won the last race of the day, the 4×400 relay. Speedsters Courtney McBride ’03 and Dlesk anchored the relay, as Tognoni and Sonia DeYoung ’05 showed talent in the middle legs. AHS won with 50 points to PA’s 45. “Even though we didn’t win, I think we did really well,” said Latina afterwards. On Wednesday, the girls were scheduled to compete against Tewksbury, but only the boys’ team showed. “Ain’t no thang like no competition!” said Maffione. The girls ran anyway, in what felt like a time trial. It was a great chance for some of the girls to try new events. Dlesk ran the 600 and won with a time of 1:35.0. Maffione ran the 1000 and the mile, both new distances for her. The relay ran in the boys’ race, finishing not far behind one of Tewksbury’s teams. With the boys’ speed to urge them on, McBride, Tognoni, Latina, and Dlesk finished with a time of 4:31.4, their best time so far this season. “Andover High can’t get us down,” said Captain Dlesk. “We’re still going to have an amazing season.”
