Propelled by a comeback in the 4×400 relay by Matt Fischetti ’14 and an impressive eight points from Derek Yau ’15, Andover Boys Track vaulted to victory in a tri-meet with Deerfield and Taft. The boys team fell behind early in the 4x400m race. However, Brandon Girard ’16, the team’s third runner, triumphantly caught up. After the first two runners, the foursome was about 80 yards behind first place and trailed 40 yards by the time Matt Fischetti ‘14 was handed the baton. “I was the third runner, and I wanted to give Fischetti ground,” said Girard. “I needed to make sure he had enough to work with in the last leg.” Fischetti finished the race in 51.8 seconds, giving Andover the deciding five points of the meet. “The anchor is always our fastest guy,” continued Girard. “And when you’re pitted up against the other team’s fastest runner on the last leg, a 40 yard difference can be huge. But I think Fischetti was determined and had it in his mind that he would pass the kid.” Yau won the triple jump and placed second in the long jump. Despite contributing eight out of the winning 70.5 points, Yau felt like the boys haven’t reached their full potential. “Staying healthy is key for us. I was the only person in the triple jump on Saturday,” said Yau. We have a lot of young [Juniors] still developing. I wouldn’t say we’ve peaked. Even though we’re 2-0, we can be much better when we’re healthy.” Girard feels like the boys team is well on its way to being a great team, but that it is important to keep working and improving. The girls team finished in third place overall, helped by strong performances from Camille Little ’16, who placed first in the 100m and 200m, Anoush Shehadeh ’15, who won the 3000m, and Victoria Naranjo ’15, who won the high jump. The team was missing several competitors because of injuries. Co-Captain Becca Wagman ’13 and Charlie Jarvis ’15, who won the 400m race in the first meet, both did not compete on Saturday. Caroline Shipley ’16, who placed first in the 400m, noted that the depth was the biggest problem on Saturday. “The people who participated performed really well, but since we didn’t have a lot of people in each event, we didn’t get those crucial second and third place finishes,” said Shipley. “All we can really do at this point is get healthier, take medical precautions and work harder in practice. The boys have been great and they inspire us to go harder in practice. But staying healthy is our main priority.” Andover Track and Field will host a tri-meet with Exeter and St. Pauls this Saturday, where the boys will look to build on their success and the girls will look for their first win of the season.
