Last weekend, Andover had a strong debut against perennial track powerhouse Andover High School. The girls team beat its cross-town rival, and the boys team came up just short, losing by six points. “We came away with the win because 20 girls on the team scored,” said Girls Captain Colleen Flanagan ’10. “That shows strong team performances across the board and great depth going into the regular season.” Boys Captain Peter Hetzler ’10 said, “Our goal for this meet was to compete at such a level that no one would get injured, even if it meant losing. We met those expectations exactly, with no injuries and a loss.” Matt Higgins ’10, who made a last minute decision to run outdoor track after a phenomenal indoor season, earned the most points for the team, winning the 100m, 200m and 4X100m relay. Malcolm Mason-Rodriguez ’11 took first place in the long jump and second in the high jump. Coach Patrick Farrell said, “[He is] a force to be reckoned with.” Piper Curtis ’13, in her first meet ever, won the 400m and was part of the winning 4X400m relay team. Allison Morrison ’12, a new member of the spring track team and MVP of winter track, also ran on the relay team and won the long jump. On the distance team, Cayla Hatton ’12 and Phil Hofer ’10 each won the 800. Hofer broke 2:00, a very impressive feat for so early in the season, and Hatton, although she had not run the 800 many times, beat her closest competitor by over ten seconds. Kate Bulger ’11 won the 3000m by more than 30 seconds. “With only a few practices before this meet, I saw long marks and throws along with fast times for the beginning of the season. We can go undefeated and win NEPSTA Interschols,” said Hetzler. “We are right on track for where we should be at this time, and we will know more after next weekend. We have a lot of work to do, but it’s nothing we haven’t planned for. I think we can do very well this season,” said Coach Jonathan Stableford. Andover will officially start its season Saturday at Taft.
