Track Blows Out Opponents at Home

This past Saturday, Exeter girls’ and boys’ track hosted Hebron, Hyde and KUA for the first track meet of the spring season. Both Exeter teams blew out the competition; the boys scored 217.66 points and the next best finisher, Hebron, scored 12.33, while the girls had a similar outcome, scoring 231 points with KUA coming in second with 19. 

For many runners it was their first time running in a year, and for others, it was their first race ever. However, when questioned about how she thought the track team would fare against the visiting schools, girls’ captain Jordan Bolden said, “I think that going in, I knew we were going to win because we are a big team and all of our athletes have improved so much from last year, even since tryouts a few weeks ago. Plus, our size would make it easier to place in each race.”

The running events kicked off at 3:30 p.m. with the boys’ followed by the girls’ 4x1. Seniors Tommy Miller, Marcus Polk, Talla Babou and Kyle Daugherty ran for the boys and senior Jordan Bolden, lower Grace Pratt, senior Maya Robinson and lower Sydney McKiernan ran for the girls, in that order. For the boys, the race started off strong, as they gained a sizable lead over both Hebron and KUA by the second handoff.

It looked as if Exeter was ready to clinch the race until the final handoff. The botched handoff significantly slowed down the last runner, but Exeter still managed to cross the finish line first. Unfortunately, during the last hand off, the last two Exeter runners were out of the hand off zone before the hand off was completed, resulting in disqualification. Senior Tommy Miller said, “We had only started practicing our handoffs the week before the meet, and even then we were a little bit shaky. The second exchange was good and the last exchange was okay. We just have to keep working on it.” The girls also had a similarly strong start. While the girls were slowed down by a few shaky handoffs during the relay, the team managed to avoid disqualification and proceeded to cruise to an easy victory.

“I think that going in, I knew we were going to win because we are a big team and all of our athletes have improved so much from last year, even since tryouts a few weeks ago. Plus, our size would make it easier to place in each race.”

The running events that followed resulted in a similar fashion. The experienced Exeter runners dominated the much smaller KUA and Hebron teams, with at least one Exeter runner placing in the 1500, 110 and 100 hurdles, 400, 100, 800, 300 hurdles, 200, 3k and 4x4. Although the pole vault and javelin teams were unable to compete due to the weather, the field events found just as much success. Both boys and girls claimed victory in the high, triple and long jump.

Both discus and shot put were victorious as well. “Exeter did well going against Hebron, Hyde and KUA. In the finals for shot put, it was only Exeter students competing. Compared to the other teams, we did well, but there is still room for improvement among each individual thrower,” upper Mykel Miller said.

From among the many standout performances on Saturday, there are two new hall-of-famers: senior Marcos Dymond in discus and lower Sydney McKiernan in long jump.

After this dominant opening meet, Big Red track enjoys the week off before a home showdown with Exeter High School on Saturday, May 2 at 2:15.