On Wednesday, both Andover Boys and Andover Girls Track raced to impressive victories in a four squad meet at home versus Cushing, Pingree and Landmark.
The boys placed first in its meet with 147 points and won all but four events.
Captain James Lim ’12 said, “The PA-Cushing-Pingree-Landmark quad-meet, held in the rain, was an excellent opportunity for everyone on the team to deliver one last, best performance on our home turf before Interschols. While we easily came away with a landslide victory, everyone pushed themselves for impressive marks, and we got to prepare our game plans in the case of inclement weather at Interschols.”
The girls dominated as well, achieving 128 points in the process. It placed first in every event besides the high jump and javelin.
Last Saturday, Andover competed against Loomis Chaffee and Northfield Mount Hermon. The boys finished in second place with 43 points compared to Loomis’ 101 and Northfield Mount Hermon’s 37, and the girls also came in second with 70.5 points, while Loomis scored 83.5 and Northfield Mount Hermon scored 24.
Although it was a rough loss for the boys, the team is not worried. It is focused on bouncing back. Captain James Lim ’12 said, “At the PA-Loomis-NMH tri-meet, we ran against some stiff competition from Loomis. It quickly became clear that they have their own specialties, and we have our own, and while we came in second behind them, we hope to capitalize on our strengths and make a comeback at Interschols, where the competition pool will be much larger.”
The boys won few events outright, placing first in the 300m and 1500m and following that up with a some second and third places throughout the meet, but it was not enough to match the very strong Loomis team.
The girls fought hard and came close to defeating Loomis, but it fell just short. The girls won the 100m, 400m, 800m, 1500m, 3000m, Long Jump, Pole Vault and Shot Put.
Kinsey Yost ’15 said, “We are not worried about the loss to Loomis. We know that we can compete with anyone.” The girls plan to take that mentality into their last few meets of the season.
Lim wants to continue Andover Track’s winning tradition this weekend at Interschols and knows the keep is capable of taking home the championship.
“Both teams will head to Choate this Saturday with an impressive legacy to uphold; the boys enter the Championships as the two-time defending champions, and the girls have won five out of the last six Championships. We know everyone will be looking to defeat us. We know that we will have to fight hard for the win. And, having watched this team train over the course of the season, I have absolutely no doubt that every single member of this team will,” Lim said.
Andover is prepared to put in a valiant effort this Saturday at Choate and hopefully take home a victory at Interschols.
