Despite taking 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place in each the long jump, the triple jump, and the high jump, the PA boys track team suffered a tough 67-78 loss to Andover High School (AHS) in a scrimmage on Saturday.
On the girls’ side, Chioma Ngwudo ’11, Kayla Rosario ’11 and Minymoh Anelone ’12 finished first, second, and third respectively in the discus, although the Andover girls team suffered a tough loss as well, 65-71.
For the boys, Gibby Graves ’11 placed first with a mark of six feet in his first high jump competition. “He certainly has the potential to win high jump at interschols,” said Co-Captain Malcolm Mason-Rodriguez ’11.
Rodriguez ran well, finishing first in the 100 meter sprint to set the standard for the team.
Led by Co-Captain Patrick Wolber ’11, the boys also swept the 1500 meter event, as Wolber’s first place finish was followed by second and third place finishes from James Hamilton ’12 and Kian Ivey ’12 respectively.
Jack Ward ’13 also performed well in the meet, beating his personal best in the shotput by seven feet to take first. When asked about his performance, Ward said, “I would first off like to thank my coaches. I was really excited to improve my shot put by a significant amount, and I look forward to improving even more this season.” All in all, Rodriguez felt, “we had some really strong performances and seem to be in a good position as we go into our meet against Deerfield.”
Led by Captain Aniebet Abasi ’11, the girls team also finished with strong results. Abasi ended up taking first place in the 200 meter, followed closely by a second place finish from Alexis Walker ’12. Katie Ellinger ’12 finished first in the 1500 and Kate Bulger ’11 ran to victory in the 3000, followed by Kelsey Jamieson ’12 who took second to round out the long distance events. In the javelin event, Jamie Shenk ’12 placed first with a 117.5 foot throw, followed directly by Kemi Amurawaiye ’11 who took second with a 101 foot throw.
Shenk’s throw unofficially beat the upper record of 108 feet, but didn’t count because the AHS meet was a scrimmage. Becca Wagman ’13 said, “The meet really showed our team spirit as people stayed long after their events were over to cheer on one another.” Wagman finished third in the 400 meter.
Khalil Flemming ’12 summed up the scrimmage, saying, “Malcolm, Aniebet, and Pat have all prove to be great choices for captains, and they are always encouraging and teaching. Unfortunately, we didn’t win the ‘meet,’ but it was a good learning experience and a chance for coaches to assess the team – which looks great already.”
The team looks forward to its first official meet on Saturday against Taft and Deerfield.
