On Saturday, Boys Track and Field participated in the New England Preparatory School Athletic Council (NEPSTA) D1 Championships, clinching second place in a tight race with Loomis Chaffee. Although some controversial calls from the officials disrupted the team’s momentum, the team was still able to bounce back and secure second place in a thrilling final 4 x 400m relay at the very end of the meet.
Ethan Brown ’27 praised some standout performances from the meet to get the team excited. He shouted out Tam Gavenas ’25 for competing hard against an evenly matched opponent, and Gracie Aziabor ’26 for having a strong throwing performance.
“Tam Gavenas. Easily. Because 3,000 meters, 5,000 meters—it’s insane. The best race of the entire track meet—him and this other kid from some other school, an 11th grader—down to the line. New NEPSAC record just because they were pushing each other: 0.08 seconds in between first and second in the 3K, 0.2 seconds in the 5K. That is virtually unheard of in a distance over 400 meters to have that much of a gap. It was crazy,” said Brown.
He continued, “[Aziabor] threw very far, setting the tone for the day. That was very good. When we heard that she got a gold—one of the first events—that really did set the tone for the day. I have to give her props for that.”
Reflecting on the end of the season, Brady Nelson ’27 provided insight on some lessons that were learned during Interscholastics.
“I would definitely say leave it all out there on the track, and you have to give 100% because even after some incredible performances, we were still neck and neck with a bunch of different teams towards the end of the meet. And I think the 4×400 really stood out to me because we were in the second heat, which made it harder for us, but they really left it all out on the track,” said Nelson.
Quentin Cynn ’28 described the structure of practices to prepare the team for Interscholastics. As the NEPSTA Championship is the climax of the season and nearing the end of the season, the team focused mainly on physical recovery and internalizing the rules.
“There weren’t that many workouts. It was more of a recovery, and to make sure everyone knew the rules. We went over the rules a lot to make sure that we didn’t get disqualified. There was a lot of emphasis on that, but it was mostly just recovery, making sure everyone had the best legs for the meet,” said Cynn.
With the upcoming A/E matchup, Brown framed the main goal for the team as beating Exeter on both the girls and on boys teams.
“Getting as many points as possible on the girls’ side, it seems that they would be able to win on the girls’ side. On the boys’ side, it wasn’t looking as strong, but the 4×100 team was definitely strong, only 0.1 seconds behind them, and there were a couple exchanges that weren’t as good. So, we definitely can climb them, and ultimately, we aim to win on both sides,” said Brown.
Nelson mentioned that confidence is an important takeaway from Interscholastics and that it’s imperative to go into every match with a high-level of confidence.
“I think the main thing is confidence. We faced some really tough competitors, and we came out either on top or very close to it, and I think it gives us a level of confidence in knowing that we got it. So, that’s really exciting. I think we’re ready to bring some of that energy to Exeter,” said Nelson.
Boys Track and Field will end their season at A/E up at Exeter on Saturday.
