The Andover Track family lost a hero, role model and long time-inspiration one year ago Wednesday. In honor of Coach Bill Blood, the team dressed in “Team Blood” shirts and dedicated its first win of this season to his legacy.
With Coach Blood at the forefront of their minds, Andover Boys Track defeated Andover High and Wilbraham, 68-25-31, while Andover Girls Track defeated Andover High and Wilbraham, 61-12-50.
“[Co-Captains] Diana [Tchadi ’14], Matt [Fischetti ’14] and I made sure that before the meet we had time to talk to everyone about the day’s significance, because for the people who knew him, he was everything: he was the program. For PA track, this meet was for more than stats and personal records,” said Boys Track Co-Captain Jonathan Arone ’14.
Andover Boys swept the long-distance events. Fischetti led Andover’s scoring efforts, winning the 600-yard dash and the 60-meter hurdles.
“I was definitely happy with the wins. There were definitely a lot of nerves in the beginning because of the importance of the day,” said Fischetti.
Scott Diekema ’14 won the boys’ one-mile race with a time of 4:53. “Having raced three days ago, I was just trying to keep it steady and see where it took me,” said Diekema.
Ralph Skinner ’16 won the 1000-yard dash with a time of 2:38.71. Ian Whitall ’14 captured the two mile in a blazing 10:26.
John Gorton ’15 and Kailash Sundaram ’15 nabbed second in the boys one and two-mile run, respectively.
In the 50-meter dash, Tyler Marshall ’14 and Foster LeBoeuf ’15 took second and third respectively.
“The captains made a really moving speech in the beginning, and it fired everyone up to have a good meet today,” said LeBoeuf.
On the girls’ side, Tchadi won the girls 50-meter hurdles and Zoe Chazen ’14 won the girls’ one-mile. A newcomer to long-distance running, Chazen has won two consecutive one-mile races.
Charlie Jarvis ’15 took first in the girls 300 meter. Camille Little ’16 won the 50-meter sprint with a time of 6:51 seconds.
Kinsey Yost ’15 placed first in the girls’ long jump, and Alexis Lefft ’16 placed second in the girls’ shot-put.
Tchadi’s words summed up the day. “When you do sports, you are focused on winning, losing, how many points you get and all those small nuances. But, this day reminded us that they are things greater than track itself,” said Tchadi. “It just reminds us that we are all here together, and we are part of one big family. Everyone is trying to embody Coach Blood’s message, and, through the blood, sweat and tears, is going have their best meet, today.”
On Sunday, a group of Andover Track athletes participated at the Greater Boston TC Invitational at Harvard University.
Diekema captured first in the scholastic one-mile with a time of 4:41, and Little placed second in the open 60-meter.
“I didn’t know what kind of competition I’d be facing so I just went into the race hoping to stay with the leaders, and it was great to come away with [the win],” said Diekema.
Andover Track faces Governor’s, Hyde and Wilbraham on Wednesday.
