Saturday 4/13 – Andover: 131.5, Deerfield: , Taft:
Wednesday 4/17 – Andover: 337, St. Paul’s: 200, Proctor: 91, KUA: 23, Tilton: 16
Outdoor Track and Field (2-0) won its first two meets of the season. Andover headed to Deerfield on Saturday and St. Paul’s on Wednesday. Both meets were invitational, with around 70 student-athletes competing. The top four field athletes and the top eight lane-event athletes for each event were invited to both meets.
On Saturday, both the boys and girls 4×1 were disqualified. Gracie Azibor ’26 mentioned how, despite this setback, Andover is ready to build back during upcoming meets.
Azibor said, “Some crucial moments were the 4×1 relays at our first meet. I would say neither of them went according to plan. Unfortunately, both of them got disqualified, which was a disappointment and a setback for the team. One good thing is that everyone that was in the 4×1, and the team, they all were very supportive and eager to get back on the track and try again and both of the 4x1s went really, really well… I think it shows how resilient our athletes are, and that is really great.”
At both meets, Jenna Robertson-Palmer ’27 noted the mental challenges athletes face when letting the pressure get in their heads and how it can influence their performance.
Robertson-Palmer said, “Some of the weaknesses are getting in our heads before races. We just need to focus on the race ahead and block out the noise and not focus on what I am doing for my block start, and just focus…[on] not worrying about the little details.”
Azibor noted that the team has been training tirelessly over the past week and the work and hours that they have been dedicating are paying off.
“Leading up to the event the team put in a lot of hard work. Definitely, this season we’ve been doing a lot of difficult workouts and the main thing we have wanted to focus on is staying focused during the meets themselves but also during practice. There was a lot of really good hard work put in leading up to it on all of the events not only just in running but all fields. All the athletes were really committed, really focused, and even the athletes who weren’t coming to the meet put in a lot of hard work and that will definitely pay off later in the season,” said Azibor.
According to Ethan Ly ’27, both new and more experienced athletes were able to showcase their talents at the St. Paul’s meet. Ly mentioned how Max Krasovsky ’27 excelled in his 400-Meter race.
Ly said, “Max Krasovsky stood out. He has never run a 400-meter race before. It was actually his first track meet ever. He really shined in the 400 meters, and I’d say that’s very impressive because many people would say that the 400 meters is one of the toughest events in track. Max really pushed through his event, and he really did a good job.”
Ly also noted how Tam Gavenas ’25 was able to be adaptable and use his endurance in a very successful 4×4 race at St. Paul’s.
“Someone who was super impressive was Tam and just the whole 4×4 team dusting St. Paul’s in the 4×400 meters. I thought Tam especially, who had just come off of running the 800 meters, where I think he ran a time of around 1:56, which is really impressive to see him anchor the 4×400 meter relay, that really just displays a super great performance,” said Ly.
Murathime Daisley ’26 predicted that the team will build from what it learned during the meet in the upcoming practices.
“Now that we have two races under our belts, I think that our times will show us what we need to build, whether it be working on our speed endurance or aerobic capabilities, which differ from person to person,” said Daisley.
Track and Field will host Austin Prep and Landmark School at home on Wednesday.
