Andover Boys Track tallied two more wins this past week, avenging last year’s loss to NMH as well as this year’s Indoor track loss to Andover High School. The Big Blue had a phenomenal meet on Saturday, triumphing over NMH, St. Paul’s, and Milton, in massive 90-point victory over the nearest competitor. Clearly, with five scoring places, Andover’s depth was key in its giant victory. However, PA athletes were wary of the unpredictable winds, both assisting and hindering competitors throughout. The wind seemed to help sprinters; in the 200m, David Sheldon ’04 came in second with 23.1 seconds, and in the 100m, O’Shea Galan ‘04 took first with a lightning 10.8. Four other PA runners ran under 12 seconds. In the 300m Hurdles, Seniors Tyler Simms ’04, Sam duPont ’04 and Gordon Hoople ’04 took second through fourth, adding 9 points to already distant Andover lead. The distance team had strong performances, especially in the 1500m, where Andover destroyed the competition with Ben Bramhall ’07 taking first in 4:27.1, followed by Jon Hillman ’05, Dan Serna ’04, and Will Riordan ’05, taking a total of 12 points. Distance star Josh Wolfe ’04 made an attempt at the 3000m school record, but Saturday’s strong gusts made his goal an unrealistic task. Nevertheless, Wolfe took first with 8:58.5, followed by Chris Donais ’05, John Freker ’04, and Sean Hamilton ’06. Tolu Wusu ’04 had a huge day with a 46’4” jump to win triple jump by over a foot, doing likewise in Long Jump with 21’. The throwers continued Andover’s domination, taking three spots in every throwing event. Captain Anwell Lanfranco ’04 threw 48’ to win Shot Put, and javelin specialist Jonathan Dent ’05 threw a whopping 156’8” to win the javelin. In the day’s final race, Andover displayed not only depth but determination with anchor runner Knef King ’04 feeling slightly sick. Still trailing at the start of the final straightaway, King made his teammates’ work worthwhile, blasting ahead for a win, just 0.4 seconds ahead of the NMH team. The Boys took that spirit and skill and went to Andover High School on Wednesday, ready for revenge for the winter season loss against the local rivals. This time, AHS was no match for the Big Blue. PA Distance had a terrific day and set the standard for Andover Track by taking multiple points in each race. In the 2-mile, the first race of the day, Hillman took second, followed by Bramhall, Riordan and Hamilton. Andover swept the mile, complements of Wolfe, Kapor, Donais and Freker. Donais also took second in the 800m, while Serna won the event for Big Blue. In the throws, Holkins moved up to first place in the Javelin with 149’4”, with Dent and Pena immediately following. Mario Noyola ’06 regained his heights of 11’6” in the Pole Vault, just barely missing the 12’ bar. Wusu again dominated, winning the triple and long jump uncontested. In the sprints, Sheldon won the 200m with an unchallenged time of 22.5seconds. Picking up on an early win in the 4 x 100m Relay, Andover’s 4 x 400m Relay squad put AHS to shame, with Kojo Degraft-Hanson ’05, Kapor, Wolfe, and King smashing the competition by over 7 seconds. Captain Anwell Lanfranco was unsuprised by the boys’ dominance and commented, “This is a dynasty, we do not lose.”
