Captain Fredericka Lucas ’18 leaned across the finish line and outran the group of sprinters shadowing behind her to secure first place with a time of 7.97 seconds in the 60-Meter Dash of the U.S.A Track & Field New England (USATF-NE) Indoor Championships. Lucas also captured a first place finish in the 200-Meter Dash with a time of 26.52 seconds and a third place finish in the high jump with a height of 5’1”. The non-scoring invitational was Andover’s final meet, following an undefeated season with a record of 4-0.
During the championship at Harvard University, Andover Girls Track & Field competed against other high schools, colleges, and track clubs including Phillips Exeter Academy, Regis College, and Governor’s.
Lucas said, “I think the coolest part about the Harvard meet was that we got to compete against runners from track clubs, colleges, and schools that we don’t normally compete against. This meant that the competition was just that much more intense, which in turn just really pushed us to do our best.”
According to Lucas, Andover’s ability to be competitive at the meet demonstrates the level of skill of its athletes.
Lucas said, “This shows that not only are we a competitive team in the prep school sphere, but also on a larger scale. The fact that we can perform well at that type of meet with more serious competition just shows how strong we are as a team.”
According to Violet Enes ’21, the performances of the adult athletes were also inspirational for the team.
Enes said, “[The meet] was a chance for us to compete with people we have never even seen before, and get to watch college students. We got to see where we could be, if we really put in the work.”
Post-Graduate Sophia Slovenski ’18 saw the meet as an exciting learning experience. Slovenski also raised her own school record by four inches in the Pole Vault with a clearance of 10-10.00 on Sunday.
“I feel like Harvard is not a meet where you are worried about your placing, it’s really just a learning experience. I was vaulting with 27-yearolds, and it was just so much fun,” said Slovenski.
Madison Bourassa ’20 said, “Sophia getting 10’10 on her pole vault, breaking her own record was a major highlight of the meet for me.”
Lucas added, “[Slovenski] broke her school record today by four inches, which was crazy, and it’s super cool to just sit in the stands and watch the bar get higher and higher and her to continue clearing it. That was definitely a highlight for me.”
According to Lucas, the Indoor Championship was a satisfying end to her time on the indoor track team.
Lucas said, “Although I’m sad to be leaving the team, I am very happy with the way that today’s meet went, and I could not have thought of a better way to end my indoor track career at Andover.”
