On Saturday the girls track team fell short to cross-town rivals Andover High 82-59, but trampled Wilbraham & Monson 100-8 in the tri-meet. The opening day loss was disconcerting for the girls, but Andover High is always the toughest match of the season. Andover High always sets the bar high, and now our girls know where they have to strive to reach. Despite the loss, Andover had many first place finishes. Andover was especially strong in the field events this week. Aba Temeng ‘06 continued her streak of winning both the discus and shot put. Temeng threw 110’ in the discus, which is impressive for so early in the season. In the javelin, Jennifer Meacham ’06 threw 93’ and captured first place. New to track and the New England cold weather all the way from New Orleans, Jara Crear ’08 won the triple jump. Ola Canty ’07 placed first in the pole vault, with Katharine Matsumoto ’07 not far behind earning second place. It was very cold Saturday, which makes sprinting both difficult and dangerous. Andover is still trying to figure out where everyone fits the best into the sprinting events, but new lower Simone Hill ’08 stepped right up and placed second in the 200m for the Blue. The girls distance runners were eager and ready to run. Ali Holliday ‘06 placed first in a close race for the 800m with a time of 2:24, beating an Andover High girl by two seconds. Abby King ’07 is back again this year, dominating the 3000m; she was untouchable Saturday with a time of 11:16. Cross country runners Sarah Cohen ’08 and Brianna Jordan ’09 ran a solid 1500m, taking second and third place, respectively. Captain Marty Schnure ’06 was happy with the girls’ performance. She knows it is tough to start the season out with such a challenging opponent, but she says everyone is keeping their heads up and looking onto the next meet. “We have a lot more strength and depth in the distance squad now than we did last year, which bodes well for Interschols.” Schnure claims. Saturday the team travels to its next meet, another tri-meet away at Taft/Deerfield. Taft is strong in the field events and sprints, and is always a major competitor at Interschols, so it should be another tough meet for the girls.
