Sports

Girls Indoor Track Breaks Two School Records in the Same Meet

This past week, Andover Girls Indoor Track & Field continued its successful run of home meets with the Nepsta All-Comers meet on Saturday and a tri-meet against North Reading High School and Lawrence High School on Wednesday.  Andover won both meets with a score of  57.75 to 53 and 57.75 to 6.25, respectively. Additionally, on Wednesday, Esme Huh ’22 broke the girls’ two-mile school record and Charlotte Whitehurst, the girls’ 1000-meter record.

Despite its success, Kiera Suh ’22 notes that this season has been quite different from the last, and has presented minor challenges. However, even with differing indoor Covid-19 policies, Suh remarked on the support given between teammates.

“I think we were able to have more spectators last season, outdoor, because there was not a limit on how many people could be in the building. This year, in Snyder center, we are more limited with spectators to just the Andover student body. I do not think that impacts our performance, though, because the team is so large. One of the great things about track is that the team has around 130 athletes, so we are able to support each other anyways. Even without many viewers or spectators, you are always going to have over 100 people on your team to watch and support you,” said Suh.

According to Suh, the more condensed schedule has affected the team’s strategy of participating in events. She notes how the number of meets forces the team to consult its coaches to determine what events to take part in during each meet.

Suh said,  “Because you are having meets so often at such high intensity, we have been working a lot with the coaches to focus on being wise with how many events we compete in per meet. On that front, I would say that we are competing in fewer events, but at the same time, it is great for the team’s energy to have these meets so often.”

In addition to working through the busy schedule, Clementine Lubin ’24 says that the long distance runners have concentrated on long striding and cool-down since Saturday’s meet.

Lubin said, “We practiced mostly running long distances over long periods of time. We ran anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour at a conversational pace during this week’s practices., On the way back, towards the end of the run, we focused on extenuating our striding. We did not do any intense working out as we had a meet Saturday and wanted to avoid overworking before Wednesday.”

Sylvie Archer ’23 points out that the high jumpers had been refining certain techniques, specifically on how to gain power off of the ground. She also notes how as the meet came closer, the training became less demanding and more focused around ensuring the athlete’s physical health.

Archer said, “Two days before today, Monday, we focused on our run-ups. It is incredibly important to have power off of the ground when you high jump, so the last couple of steps approaching the bar are the most important. Tuesday, yesterday, we kept it light. We made sure that we had a comfortable clearance over our opening heights and to stretch very well before our meet today.”

Andover looks to continue its overall success next Wednesday against Marianapolis, Governor’s Academy, Wilbraham, and the rival Phillips Exeter Academy.

Editor’s note: Kiera Suh ’22 is the Executive Digital Editor of The Phillipian.