Despite three wins from Patrick Wolber ’11, Andover suffered a 52-53 loss on the boys’ side in a heated season finale against archrival Exeter. The girls also suffered a close loss, ending the meet in a final score of 44-64. “Exeter has some very strong runners, so for us to give them heavy competition, especially in a season when our team is so young, was a great triumph,” said Captain Turner Shaw ’11. With both teams battling back and forth to claim individual events, the meet ultimately came down to the 4X400 relay for the boys. Despite a strong comeback by Renat Zalov ’11, cheered on by fellow teammates, Andover came just behind Exeter with a time of 3:57.2. The race was equally as intense on the girls’ side, as the girls finished off the meet with a victory in 4:42.4. The competition proved tough right from the start, with Joe Kruy ’12 taking first in the shot put at 44’9. However, Andover fell to Exeter in the long- jump. Chioma Ngwudo ’11 threw a stellar 35’5” in the shot put for the girls, but Andover also fell to Exeter in the long jump. Both Andover boys and girls took second in the high jump. Allan Yau ’11 leaped a height of 4’10,” while Kemi Amurawaiye ’11 finished at 4’6”. Finally getting a chance to pole vault against tough competition, Andover vaulter Max Queenan ’11 captured first at a personal record of 11 feet. Zoe Chazen ’14 took second in the pole vault for the girls. Soon after, Wolber won his first event, the boys mile, with a time of 4:37 to start off the distance events. Next came the girls mile, in which Kate Bulger ’11 raced to a well-earned second at 5:32.2. Exeter displayed great strength in the short distance events, taking both the 50-yard hurtles and the 50-yard dash on both the boys and girls sides. Andover competed well in those events, as Kruy finished soundly in the hurdles at 7.1 seconds, while Mike Garai ’13 placed second in the dash at 5.7 seconds. Becca Wagman ’13 tied for second in the dash at 6.7 seconds. Next, Wolber came out with a dominant performance in the 600 yards with a time of 1:19.8. Jasmine Edison ’11 also faired extremely well in her respective 600, winning at 1:36.7. Ben Talarico ’11 battled hard in the 2 mile but suffered a tough loss to a fast Exeter runner to take second. On the other hand, Bulger and Kelsey Jamieson ’12 did incredibly well in their 2 mile event, delivering a one- two punch for Andover. In the 300 yards, Exeter demonstrated its depth, taking first on both the girls and boys sides. Wolber once again came out strong and fast in the 1000 yards right after, winning at 2:26.7. Finally, the meet came down to the anticipated 4X400 relay, which officially sealed the win for Exeter. Despite the loss, the Andover squad faired very well overall, finishing out the season strongly. “Although we had a winter cursed with even more bad weather, injuries, and sickness, than usual, we pulled through, to show that Andover Track is always a team to fear,” stated Shaw. A group of selected Andover runners will also be competing this Sunday in Boston, in the prestigious USATF- NE championships.
