Charlotte Whitehurst ’22 dominated in a three-way meet against Governor’s and Lawrence High, claiming first place in both the 2-Mile and 1-Mile races with times of 12:47.95 and 5:57.94 minutes, respectively.
Despite the Harvard Open Invitational being cancelled this past Sunday due to weather, Andover Girls Indoor Track & Field showcased its strength in Wednesday’s three-way meet, collecting 55 points over Governer’s 51 points and Lawrence High’s 19 points. This brings the team’s season record to 2-2.
Although not holding Monday practice due to Martin Luther King Jr. Day, the team prepared on Tuesday with its usual pre-meet session, according to Myra Bhathena ’22.
Bhathena said, “Since we didn’t have our Monday regular practice, we were immediately forced to go into Tuesday with the agenda of a pre-meet practice. This included mainly preparing for our meet like we do every Tuesday. I think a lot of us over the weekend spent some time running or taking a rest at least, so that we could be fully prepared for this meet.”
A familiar opponent for Andover, Governor’s brought an unsurprising level of competition to Andover this Wednesday, according to Melanie Cheung ’20.
Cheung said, “It is always great competing with Governor’s, as they are a team that we have competed against many previous times. We usually have an idea of how they are going to do in the competition, and as we encounter the same people it becomes more of a personal competition.”
Lawrence High, though, was a new opponent for Andover.
Captain Georgia Ezell ’19 said, “Getting new competition like Lawrence this week and Andover High last week, it keeps us fresh and I think it really pushes the team as a whole to a new level.”
Andover had strong performances in all of its event, but the team displayed particular talent in the Long Jump, long distance races, and 55-Meter Hurdles, according to Kiera Suh ’22.
Suh said, “We had a lot of great competition today, including some personal records set in the long jump and continually fast finishes in the long distance events. The team also put out some great times in the 55-Meter Hurdles.”
In particular, Rachel Chang ’20 and Bhathena stood out in Wednesday’s meet, according to Victoria Darling ’22.
“Bhathena was very impressive today placing first in the 55-Meter Hurdles as well as competing in the 4×400-Meter Relay and the 300-Meter Sprint,” Darling said.
She added, “Chang also competed great today, setting a personal record in the Long Jump and continuing her great performance in the 4×200-Meter Relay and the High Jump.”
Overall, the team was proud of its performance, especially due to its strengthened team dynamic, according to Christine Michael ’22.
Michael said, “I think that as a team we are all growing closer together despite the wide variety of people. In this meet, we were more comfortable with our events and especially during the relays this helped a lot. We have grown together as a unit and this is exemplified through our great team spirit.”
Going forward, the team is confident in its ability to perform consistently at a high level, according to Cheung.
Cheung said, “I think these past meets have all been leading up to [Andover/Exeter] and preparing us as a team well. The team as a whole is starting to find its groove, so I think we are well prepared for the upcoming meet against Chase and Marianopolis.”
Editor’s Note: Rachel Chang is an Associate News Editor for The Phillipian.
