Track Takes Down Governor’s: Boys’ and Girls’ First Meet Ends in Victory for Exeter at Home
At its first meet of the season this past Saturday, Exeter’s track team trampled over Governor’s Academy with a whopping score of 109-35 for the girls’ team and 115-27 for the boys. This was a phenomenal start to the season, with everyone energetic and excited to be competing after a few tough weeks of training.
Lower Silas Lane explained that “it was a good opportunity for everyone to try out events they had been preparing for, to see where they felt most comfortable.”
Pleasant surprises filled the track, with athletes achieving personal records in nearly every event.
Uppers Garrett Pitt and Atticus Stonestrom both competed in the longest race of the meet: the 3k. They raced outstandingly well, easily placing first and second and acquiring Hall of Fame times of 9:01 and 9:07, respectively.
“The two worked together for the whole of the race, until Pitt ran a 62-second last 400 [meters],” upper Issay Matsumoto said.
Another impressive athlete, upper Christine Hu, ran an impressive 3k, grasping first place and finishing with a PR of 40 seconds and a time of 10:16. Not far behind came upper Yoshiko Lynch, who also ran a fast time of 10:55.
“We just want to develop our skills, working to improve on our personal best times and distances.”
Co-captain and senior Vince Vaughn ran a school record time in the 100m and beat his own 200m record. Fellow co-captain and senior Chudi Ikpeazu beat one of his school records in the discus throw with a distance of 50.46m.
Big Red displayed their teamwork in the 4x100 relay, as the varsity A team finished with four seconds to spare before the Governor’s A team trailed behind along with Exeter’s B team. The competition between Big Red’s B team and Governor’s A team was intense, as they were neck and neck until the end, when Exeter pulled through, beating Governor’s by 0.2 seconds. “It was just awesome to watch,” lower Dolapo Adedokun said of the relay’s victory.
With the first meet out of the way, things are looking bright for the rest of the season. The athletes have clear goals and are ready for more competition.
“We just want to develop our skills, working to improve on our personal best times and distances,” Lane said.
In a couple of weeks, the team will be competing against other NEPSTA prep schools at the Hunt Relays, which will be taking place at Deerfield Academy. Until then, they will continue to maintain the high level of effort they have showed since the start of the season.
With the first win up their sleeve, the track team is confident in what is to come in the future. They are determined to keep their New England Champion status this year.