After breaking the Junior record in the triple jump in her first Andover meet last year and going on to break the Junior record in the long jump later on, Melanie Cheung ’20 will look to continue making a valuable impact on the Girls Track & Field team this spring.
Captain Fredericka Lucas ’18 said, “From the beginning of the season, [Cheung] was our team’s strongest triple jumper. She consistently performed well, broke her own record multiple times before the end of the year, and even scored at the NEPSTA Division One Track & Field Championships. We can always rely on her to score points in the triple jump and contribute to our team point total.”
Cheung is from Shanghai, China and has been doing Track ever since middle school. Before coming to Andover, Cheung played a multitude of sports, including volleyball and rugby, but dance now takes precedence for her in the Fall and Winter Seasons, while she runs track in the spring.
Cheung’s main events are the triple jump and the long jump, but she also participates in sprint events at meets and is thinking about picking up high jump this season to expand her contribution to the team.
According to Lucas, Cheung’s consistency and reliability are what have made her such a strong contributor ever since she joined the team.
“She is an amazing asset to the team and works hard in practice with Coach [Kurt] Prescott as a member of the jump squad. I can’t wait to see her continue to improve and hopefully break more records again this season,” said Lucas.
Cheung is enthusiastic about both the personal skill aspect and the team aspect of track.
“I’m really pumped to be with the team again. I love the team, and I’m excited for all the meets to come and just like getting back into track training,” said Cheung.
