The Boys Track team was not a bit worried about the competition they faced from Cushing Academy, who they crushed with a score of 118-18 last Wednesday. Looking to motivate their athletes during this final stretch, both Coach Corbin Lang and Coach Lou Bernieri said, “This is the meet where some make the Interschols team and some don’t.” The Andover boys began the meet with a tremendous start, as both the Varsity and JV 4x100m Relay squads beat their Cushing competitors. Josh Barclay ’05 jumped a personal-best of 6’0” in the High Jump, moving to solidify his slot as an Interschols competitor. Team member Callistus Onyiuke ’05 took third place with 5’8”. Tolu Wusu ’04 won the Triple Jump with 44’3”. Mike Eruzione ’04 came in second with 38’3.5,” a mark made even more impressive given his long time on the injured list. Wusu continued to contribute, landing first in the Long Jump at 21’7.5” and first in the 100m with 11.5sec. He will be a great asset for the Big Blue when he competes in multiple events at the championship meet. The Distance crew took the opportunity to switch up their runners and their events on Wednesday. In the 1500m, scoring runners John Freker ’04, and Uppers Chris Donais and Jon Hillman all ran under 4:30, respectable times given their lack of competition. Ben Bramhall ’07, Sean Hamilton ’06 and Kevin Daly ’05 came in afterwards, completing a first through sixth sweep for Andover. For the 800m, Adam Kapor ’04 took an anticipated first place with 2:03.4, followed by Dan Serna ’04 and Hamilton. In the 200m, O’Shea Galan ’04, seeking to submit a good time for his Interschols seed, ran the race for only his second time this season. Clocked at 23.4sec in first place, O’Shea was closely followed by David Sheldon ’04 23.4sec, with Greg Hsu ’06 sliding into third place with 24.6sec. Despite the fact that Galan has run this particular race very few times, he is already seeded as fourth with Sheldon seeded third in the Interschols preliminary sheets. Knef King ’04 had a huge day in the 400m, rushing into first with a lightning 50.6 seconds, followed by teammate Kojo Degraft-Hanson ’05 four seconds behind, edging past the line just ahead of the Cushing opponent. In the 110m Hurdles, Sam duPont ’04 and Edwin Kulubya ‘06 took first and second places with 16.7sec and 17.04sec respectively, with Kulubya finishing a full 3 seconds ahead of his Cushing competitor. Tyler Simms ’04 came in first at a quick 43.6 seconds in the 300m Hurdles, and duPont in second place with 44.8sec. In the discus, only Captain Anwell Lanfranco ’04 scored for Andover. Lanfranco continued to lead by example in the shot put, where he took first with a throw of 49’7.5”, and Aaron O’Hern ‘’07 placed third with 42’6.5”. Javelin-specialist Pat Holkins ’04 pushed his way to first again, taking out the competition and dwarfing his previous performances with a huge 164’8” throw. Jonathan Dent ’05 matched his earlier distances, measured at 158’10”, with Jeffrey Pena in third at 137’11”. The 4 x 400m Relay was a spectacle for Andover fans as the Varsity squad roared through the finish line at 3:35, followed by both JV Andover squads before Cushing eventually crossed the line. The Andover times differed by10 seconds between each squad, once again showing that Andover can rely on the depth of all of its athletes in any situation. Captain Lanfranco said to the team on Monday, “This is it. We have to work hard this week. This is Interschols week. Saturday is the most important day of the year, more important than prom, more important than graduation.” With this mentality, the Andover Boys hope to maintain the dynasty and bring home their fourth consecutive trophy.
