On Sunday, the Andover Girls Track team returned to the Harvard track for another invitational, its final meet of the season. With tough competition, Andover found itself generally in the middle of the pack, running strong. The team competed at Harvard earlier in the season and many found that they returned to the track with more confidence; they have their fast times and far jumps to vouch for this. On Tuesday, the girls elected their new team captain. The team elected Kit Harris ‘07 to lead the team after Captain Marty Schnure ’06 graduates. Harris commented, “I have been running indoor track for three years now, and I really enjoy it. As captain I want to do my best to make sure everyone enjoys the sport as much as I do.” Harris ran the 400 in 64.23 seconds coming in 19th place. Hannah Comeau ’06 was right behind her in 64.27 seconds placing 20th. Sarah Cohan ’08 had a personal best time on the track in the mile. Cohan ran the mile in 5:40 minutes. She commented “With lots of personal records, this meet was a strong way to finish the season with confidence and prepare for spring track.” Carolyn Pollard ’07 competed in the 60m hurdles and the 200m dash. In the hurdles, Pollard placed ninth of 16 with a time of 9.95 seconds. In the dash, she placed a strong 14th place out of 33 competitors in 28.20 seconds. Following not too far behind was Simone Hill ’08 placing 18th in 29.30 seconds. Colleen Thurman and Michelle Nguyen ’07 also competed in the dash. Thurman placed 21st with a time of 29.39 seconds, and Nguyen followed close behind finishing 28th with a time of 30.62 seconds, very near her personal best. Thurman had a very strong performance in the long jump. She placed 14th of 18 girls in the event, jumping 4.57 meters. She commented, “It was cool to see the accomplished athletes compete in the same events we did. Also, it was fun to go up against people different from the usual competition.” Jumping only 17 centimeters shorter than Thurman, Michelle Nguyen ’07 placed 15th in the event; she jumped 4.40 meters, a distance almost matching her personal best. A thrilled Nguyen commented, “Harvard was a great opportunity to finish up any strides for personal bests this season. We were there to have a good time, but we surprised ourselves with strong performances. Indoor track has been really great this season. I felt the team had a really good vibe and got along well. Also, we beat Exeter which definitely counts for a lot.” Ending the season, Captain Schnure commented, “I am really excited for Kit to be captain; it feels really good to leave knowing that she will be captain. Although I am getting nostalgic about leaving our undefeated winter, I am really excited for the spring; I think it will finally be our year to win Interschols.”
