Andover Track and Field voyaged to St. Paul’s School on Saturday and performed exceptionally well – although team scores were not officially recorded at the meet, the Girls team continued its dominance and remained undefeated. Meanwhile, the Boys team competed well, and its younger members showed potential.
Specifically, Noah Ward ’17 impressed for the second meet in a row. Ward earned first place in Discus and finished second in Shot Put, with remarkable throws of 145’-00” and 50’-09”, respectively.
“I started out the meet with a good series of throws around 50’ for Shot Put with a best of 50’ 9” for second place, and then I transitioned over to Discus to throw a 145’. I had a good day in terms of distances, and I hope to improve those as we move toward Interschols,” wrote Ward in an email to The Phillipian.
The standout for the Girls was jumper and sprinter Camille Little ’16, who dominated her competition, proving triumphant in the Long Jump, 100-Meter and 200-Meter races. She also participated in the winning 4×100-Meter Relay.
Little wrote in an email to The Phillipian, “I was extremely excited and happy with the way the entire team ran. It was incredible to see how much the team has improved since the first meet. I really look forward to this weekend at Northfield Mount Hermon (NMH) since they have a fast track, and we have a history of doing well there. I think that with this past meet’s performance, we should have the confidence and ability to bring home a win this weekend.”
Caroline Shipley ’16 continued her undefeated streak in the 400-Meter Dash and the 4×100-Meter Relay. In the 400, Shipley improved her time from a 1:01 from the first meet to an impressive 59.2.
Shipley wrote in an email to The Phillipian, “The meet overall was awesome across the board. For me personally, it was nice because I improved my times a lot from last meet, which motivates me to improve them even more for this weekend at NMH.”
John Gorton ’15 maintained his undefeated streak in the 1500-Meter Relay, posting a time of 4:19, nearly matching his previous time of 4:15. Gorton remained with the leading pack for the majority of the race, and once he was in striking distance, he bolted ahead to secure his victory.
Gorton wrote in an email to The Phillipian, “The 1500 this week was very much a ‘wait for the last lap’ kind of race, which actually suits my racing style well. I waited in the leading pack for the first three laps, then pulled out my fastest time in the final 400, giving me a strong lead over the other runners.”
Andover Girls swept the 800-Meter Race. Carmen Bango ’16 achieved first place, continuing her undefeated streak with a time of 2:19, followed by teammates Katherine Wilson ’18 and Michaela Jones ’18 who earned second and third place, respectively. Bango just shaded her last time of 2:20.97 from the previous meet.
Bango wrote in an email to The Phillipian, “The 800 is a really cool and challenging event because it is a mixture of distance and sprinting. I love the 800 because you have all the adrenaline that comes with a sprint, but you also have time to think during the race. Last week I focused on staying strong and pacing myself. I hope to improve next meet by starting out a little slower so that I can finish faster.”
Jax Ross ’17, who nabbed first place in the 110-Meter Hurdles, said, “My first time running hurdles was very fun despite the cold. The competition among my teammates is insanely intense. We push ourselves every practice, striving to get better, aiming for perfection.”
Andover Track and Field takes on NMH and Loomis Chaffee at NMH this Saturday.
