The sun was shining and so was the Andover Track team. Coming off a two meet losing streak, the Boys absolutely dismantled the Golden Warriors, handing the Andover High track team a painful loss to the tune of 109-36. The girls, meanwhile, won in a nailbiter, 74.5-70.5. Boys Taking first in all but three events en route to a ridiculous final score of 109 to 36, the boys took out their early season-frustrations on the hapless runners from Andover High. Josh Wolfe ’04 was the story of the day as he ran the fastest times in both the 800 meters and the 3000 meters that Andover has seen all year. Wolfe took first in the 800 meters with a blazing fast 1:57.9 and then followed up that feat with an amazing performance in the 3000 meters. Andover High’s Phil Shaw, one of the top distance runners in the state, showed up towards the end of the meet to run the 3000. Wolfe had not been planning to run the 3000, as made evident by his fast 800 race, but could not resist the opportunity to run against a competitor as strong as Shaw. After the gun sounded, Shaw slid into first position to lead the race. However, thirty seconds later, Garret Vaslet ’03 sprung Wolfe, who took control. Running strong with Shaw on his heels, Wolfe controlled the race until about the halfway mark, where Shaw moved up to regain the lead. With 800 meters to go, Wolfe passed Shaw and never looked back. Wolfe opened it up on the final straightaway and finished two seconds ahead of Shaw. Earlier in the day, the boys kicked off the meet with a come from behind win in the 4 x 100 meter relay victory. Because Andover was never fully out of the race, it was all up to David Sheldon ’04 to close the gap in the third leg of the relay. Whipping around the final turn, Sheldon did just that and a little more as he handed off the baton to O’Shea Galan ’05, just fractions of a second ahead of Andover High’s third runner. Galan exploded down the home stretch, securing five points for Big Blue. Led by shot put standout Anwell Lanfranco ’04, the Andover throwing squad to took first and second in both the shot put and the javelin. Lanfranco’s toss of 47’10” landed him first place in the shot put and Tom Dimopolis ’03 took second with a throw of 42’ 3”. Relatively new to the sport, Dimopolis is steadily improving and should continue to improve as the season goes on. Jeff Pena ’04 and Jonathan Dent ’05 took first and second place in the javelin with marks of 150’11” and 150’ 2”, respectively. The only Andover thrower to place in the discus, Justin Loffredo ’03 took first with an impressive throw of 112’10”. Andover swept the 400 meters thanks to great performances from Knef King ’04, Ko-Jo Hanson ’05, and Captain Chimaobi Izeogu ’03. King finished first in 52.6 seconds. Not far behind, Hanson and Izeogu finished second and third with times of 54 seconds and 54.6 seconds, respectively. Sheldon and Galan more than took care of business in the sprints. Galan’s time of 11.1 seconds earned him first place in the 100 meters and Sheldon followed with a time of 11.3 seconds. Sheldon and Galan tied for first in the 200 meters, both finishing in 23 seconds even. Sheldon added a win in the long jump to his work on the day. Andover’s distance boys dominated the Warriors on Saturday led by Wolfe, only giving up the aforementioned second place in the 3K to Shaw. Adam Kapor ’04 placed second in the 800 meters with a time of 2:02 in addition to running the second leg of the 4 x 400 meter relay. Andover’s 4 x 400 relay team, composed of Hanson, Kapor, Izeogu, and King, beat Andover High by nearly 8 seconds. Gavin Kuangparichat ’03 followed in third in the 800m. Vaslet combined with Jack McCallum ’03 and Chris Donais ’05 for a sweep of the 1500m. Sam Dupont ’04 and Eliot Beck ’05 took second and third in the 300 meter hurdles. Dupont also placed third in the 110 meter hurdles and was the only Andover athlete to do so in the event. In the end, Andover High did not even have a chance. Girls The Phillips Academy Girls Track team have transformed their early season troubles into a very successful campaign, as the girls narrowly beat local rival Andover High School last Saturday. With Captain Katie Dlesk ’03 noticeably missing from certain events, the teamed pulled together to secure the wins. The meet started on a high note, with Cassie Tognoni ’05 marking a personal best 4’10” to take second in the high jump, followed by Kasey O’Laughlin ’05, who tied for third with an Andover High girl. Kaitlin Ainsworth ’03 placed second in the triple jump with a leap of 30’4”. Leila Adell ’05 won the pole vault at 7’0”, while Lee Rotenberg ’05 tied with an opponent for second place. The typically unbeatable 4x100m relay team struggled this meet, with some awkward handoffs leading to the first loss in recent memory. The team faltered in the relay in spite of Dlesk’s heroic efforts against little sister Jenny, a top sprinter at AHS. The 1500m proved encouraging, as distance superstar Lissy Robie ’04 again captured first, with a time of 5:05.9. Sam Weisz ’03 followed in 5:24.8, her nearest competitor trailing by nearly 13 seconds. Another distance star Kathryn Moore ’03 placed second in her new event, the javelin, with a throw of 88’10”. Joanna Corey ’04 was not far behind, finishing third with a throw of 86’0”. Courtney McBride ’03 won the 400m in 61.5s, with O’Laughlin placing second with a season’s best time of 66.5. Unfortunately, AHS swept the 100 hurdles and the long jump. Erin O’Hern ’03 won the shot put, throwing 33’5”, and Nicole George ’04 threw 25’0” for third place. Sonia DeYoung ’05, a member of the 4×100 team, placed third in the 100m dash with a time of 13.7s. Robie returned to win the 800m with a time of 2:28.5, and Becca Howe ’06 followed for second in 2:36.4. Marty Schnure ’06 exacted her revenge in the 100 hurdles, winning the event in 49.7s. O’Hern placed second in the discus with a throw of 104’2”. McBride placed second in the 200m with a time of 27.8s. With the team down ten points prior to the start of the 3000m, the girls racing knew they needed a sweep in order to salvage the team’s hope of winning the heated meet. Robie won in 11:35.3, her third win of the day. Weisz placed second with the same time, and Celia Alexander ’04 rounded out the group in 11:59.2. The 4x400m relay, minus Dlesk, found themselves responsible for carrying the team to victory. DeYoung led off with a strong leg, Tognoni achieved a narrow lead, O’Laughlin opened it up and McBride closed. The result was a time of 4:14.0, far ahead of the other team’s 4:28.0.
