Newcomer Zach Moynihan ’21 ran the 200-Meter Dash in 26.49 seconds
As the last thrower to compete in the boy’s javelin competition, Liu Rothschild ’20 threw 135 feet 1 inch to win the Saturday meet for Andover over Deerfield and Taft by the score of 73-60-47 while also establishing a new personal record.
Rothschild was one of many athletes who excelled in the throwing events on Saturday; Noble Ohakam ’18 threw a 42 feet 9 inches in the shot-put event, earning second place and establishing a new personal record. Following up, Adam Cohen ’18 and Michael Codrington ’18 each threw 40 feet and 36 feet shotputs, placing them third and fourth respectively. In the javelin, Andover took first and second place, with Rothschild and Billy Wang ’18 each throwing 135 feet 1 inch and 129 feet 9 inches respectively. Finally, in discus, Andover claimed second place with Codrington throwing 101 feet 11 inches. The throwers from Andover continued to improve as the meet progressed, according to Codrington.
Codrington said, “It was a great day for the throws. We had many PRs across the board. The highlight for me was the javelin. We had five Andover throwers in the finals and Liu Rothschild and Billy Wang did not disappoint in their friendly battle. On Liu’s last throw, which was the last throw of the meet, he PR’d to take the lead. It was great. It’s like coach says, ‘Focus on your little things each time you throw, be relaxed, don’t worry about distance.’ It worked out well because people continued getting better at their event as the day went on.”
On the track, Andover swept the 1500-Meter run, securing first through fourth place with Sam Tobin ’18 setting the season record for the event. Spencer Davis ’18 and Michael Turner ’20 were each able to set personal records in the same run. In the 3000-Meter race, Andover secured the top three spots with finishes from Alex Fleury ’20, Davis, and Max Yang ’20 respectively.
Despite placing third in the 4×400 relay, the team, led by Michael McCullom ’18, rallied together, finishing strong with a time of 3:46:08, according to Akesh Shah ’18.
“One of the highlights was the 4×400 relay at the end when everybody got together and Michael McCullom, the team leader, ran a terrific time of 50 seconds. The events we always do well in are the hurdle events and distance events. Our throwing team is also really strong this year. As far as standout athletes go, McCullom consistently carries the team and was the Winter Track MVP,” said Shah.
The weather on Saturday became increasingly cold and windy as the day progressed, but the team was able to push through it due to its practice in the harsh conditions all week, according to Turner and Codrington.
Turner said, “The weather was a problem. When we got there it wasn’t to bad but got a lot worse as the meet went on which made running harder. We dealt with it by putting on a bunch of layers and pushing through the weather.”
“All week, the weather has been unforgiving to compete in. But, since we did, we were ready when it was cold and windy outside,” added Codrington.
Moving forward, Andover hopes to build off of its strong base while improving in the mid-range distance events and the long jump specifically, according to Turner and Shah.
“I think the team has a good base. People are trying out new events and going out of their comfort zone.” said Turner.
“Moving forward, we need to improve in the long jump and our middle distance events like the 400-Meters. Overall, great performance from the team and we could make a run this year,” said Shah.
Andover will compete in the Hunt Relays at Deerfield on Saturday.
