Andover Girls Indoor Track continued to dominate the 4×400 relay but was unable to pull out a win against Exeter last Wednesday in its final meet of the year. The girls performed well but fell to a strong Exter team 43-61. “Last week’s meet against Exeter was a tough loss. They are a good team, and the loss really shows where our strengths are, as well as where we need improvement,” said Captain Becca Wagman ’13. “The meet against Exeter was a really great opportunity for us to push our limits. Although we unfortunately lost, we have all grown a lot as athletes over the course of the season” said Charlie Jarvis ’15. Andover’s strengths were evident during the meet. Diana Tchadi ’14 placed second in the 50 meter hurdles. Camille Little ’16 and Jarvis placed first and third respectively in the 50 and 300 meter dashes. Wagman came up big for Andover during the meet as well, anchoring the 1 mile relay team that defeated Exeter. However, Andover’s lack of depth in showed in some key events. “Our team seemed to lack runners in the mid-distance events. While we have some strong returners and newcomers, we will definitely need more 400 meter and 800 meter runners for the spring,” said Wagman. Andover is determined to build on this loss and the season as a whole and carry these experiences over into the spring. “While this may have been a tough loss, we had a great season as a whole. The younger runners ran to the best of their abilities and were great contributors to the team. We were up against some tough competition this season, but we definitely brought our A game,” said Wagman. Andover Boys Indoor Track faced a similar outcome against a strong Exeter team, losing 32-72. “The team’s biggest challenge came at the final meet. Exeter’s squad was very fast in all of the running events, with a lot of depth in the sprints and middle-distance, and that’s what propelled them to victory in the end,” said Captain Demetrious Papageorgiou ’13. Although it may not have shown in the score, Andover had many impressive performances from members of the team. Tunde Bello ’13 and Jonathan Arone ’14 took first and second place in the 50 meter dash, trouncing a strong field of Exeter sprinters. Brandon Girard ’16 and Tyler Marshall ’14 captured second and third in the 300 meter dash, both coming in with times below 37 seconds. Matt Fischetti ’14 took first place in the long jump with a powerful leap of nearly 19 feet. Justin Aimonetti ’13 also did very well in the shotput, throwing it a distance of 51 feet. Andover took this loss as a learning experience and plans to build on it to reach its ultimate goal this spring. “Fortunately, many of the indoor team’s top performers will also be part of the outdoor track team, so we are excited about what the spring season will bring,” said Papageorgiou. “I’ll be handing the torch off to Tunde, who will captain the outdoor track team. He’s wicked fast and a great guy, so the team can expect great things from him come springtime,” said Papageorgiou. Although Andover did not end its Indoor Track season with a win, the team set a firm foundation for a competitive team this spring.
