With a combined distance of 108’ 2”, farther than any other school, the Andover Boys Track & Field Javelin unit slid into first place. On Saturday, Andover traveled to Deerfield to compete in the Hunt Relays, an unscored meet with multiple relays and team events.
In an email to The Phillipian, Head Coach Sean Hyland wrote, “This is a unique meet for us since there are no individual competitions. Every event is contested as a relay, even the field events, which are scored by combining the top three performances from each team. It is a great way to measure team depth and is a fun break from the usual schedule of track meets.”
The meet provided Andover with the opportunity to compete with eleven other schools in a less stressful environment, according to members of the team.
“The Hunt Relays are a great variation of the standard track meet. The relay style of each race pushes each competitor to work harder for their team. Also, this was a great opportunity to see what the Interschools competition is looking like. I think our performance this Saturday showed great strength and depth in our team, and we’re all excited to bring the same energy to Interschools,” said Nathan Goldthwaite ’18.
In the Shot Put event, Andover placed first with a combined distance of 131 feet 9 inches from Noah Ward ’17, Johnny Rex ’17, and Tyler Craigwell ’18, respectively. Individually, Ward landed second place overall.
The 4×100-Meter relay team and the 4×200-Meter relay team also took first place with times of 43.96 seconds and 1:33.30 minutes, respectively. Andover secured a second place finish in the Distance Medley Relay, a combination of a 400-Meter, 800-Meter, 1200-Meter, and 1600-Meter relay, with a time of 11:03.93 minutes.
Sam Tobin ’18, the anchor for 4×800-Meter relay, said, “This meet is always a lot of fun, and all season the distance runners have been looking forward to running the [Distance Medley Relay] and 4×800, which we don’t get to run elsewhere. The team held up extremely well under such pressure. Even in events we didn’t expect to do well in, certain members showed stellar determination by far surpassing our expectations.”
Coach Hyland wrote, “I was looking forward to some great competition and seeing how our athletes would stack up against the tough teams we will face later in the season. I wasn’t nervous because I know how well we prepare and have confidence in everyone on our team. The important thing is that we are coming together as a team, which is tough to do with 135 athletes.”
On Wednesday, Andover will face off against St. Paul’s, Phillips Exeter Academy, and Governor’s in a home meet, where the team will continue its preparation for Interschols.
Tobin said, “During these mid-season meets, our coaches are shuffling athletes in different events to increase our chances at Interschols. On Saturday, the team showed not only the strength, but also the flexibility that will be necessary for us to win the championship in May.”
