Track Finishes Second, Sixth at Interschols

Three time New England champions, four year Andover victors and all time dedicated athletes, this year’s track team had shoes  to fill. With many of the top athletes missing from the previous years, the team’s depth had dissipated some. Team members who were not as valuable last year were forced to step up. A four-peat season was merely a dream to this year’s track team, but they were determined to succeed.

However, their effort paid off. “We didn’t really know what to think going into this season,” upper Issay Matsumoto said.  “But thanks to strong leadership, we’ve had a successful season.”

Co-captains and seniors Chudi Ikpeazu, Vince Vaughns, Matt Asante, Jordyn Marlin, Michaela Streep and Bridget Higgins led the team to achieve numerous accomplishments this season. PRs were made, records were broken and relationships within the team grew tighter.

Throughout the course of the season, Ikpeazu and Vaughns continuously broke their records of the discus and 100m and 200m sprint respectively, inspiring the younger members of the team while leaving other schools in awe. On the distance side, uppers Garrett Pitt and Atticus Stonestrom, constantly on each other’s tails, pushed one another to success in the vicious 3k. Uppers Christine Hu and Yoshiko Lynch mirrored the boys’ success throughout the season for the girls’ distance team.

“It is a positively competitive environment where everyone strives to do better. Not only this, but everyone on the team is warm and welcoming.”

The power from within the girls’ team was prominent over the course of the season, with Streep and Higgins reaching the hall of fame in discus and the 400m, setting an example for the rest of the team. Individual school records were made, such as senior Peace Kabari’s shotput throw distance. The team showcased their teamwork in breaking the 4x200 relay school record consisting of runners Higgins, uppers Sydney Mckiernan and Grace Pratt and senior Marisa Ngbemeneh. The girls team had an impressive undefeated season of 9-0 until Interschols.

“All of our girls were fierce competitors, rarely letting competition get in their head,” lower Chichi Ikpeazu said.

This year’s Interschols, the most important meet of the season, was deemed a success, although they did not win the title of New England Champions. “Everyone showed up and brought their best,” Vaughn ssaid. The girls placed in an impressive 2nd place, while the boys placed in 6th. The boys’ lower score was mainly due to the missing top runners. All the athletes were invested in their teammates, supporting them through every event. The sprinters even encouraged the distance runners, and the throwers cheered for the jumpers. “At every event there were a number of kids cheering loudly for others who were competing and that speaks to the mentality of the team,” senior Matt Asante said.

Though the team did not gain the title at interschols, they took home something even more important than winning: a closer bond.“We may not have won interschols, but the team has grown and formed its own new identity,” Matsumoto said.

In order to get to this level of athleticism and achieve what they did during the season, the coaches have kept the team motivated throughout the whole season, pushing them to the limit in practices. It was a large commitment, but the team has succeeded in completing every single one. The training schedule was brutal: running, throwing and training for almost two hours, six days a week. Even out of the track, the athletes’ lives revolved around their training schedule. Eating and sleeping were regarded as just as important as what is physically done on the track.

“Coach Coder let that be known the first day of practice. We made a commitment to run together, lift together, throw together and ultimately compete together for the entire term in order to bring the best out of us,” Vaughn said.

With a big team consisting of around 60 people, it is hard to believe that the team is close. However, they have proved that to be wrong. “For such a large team, not only have we managed to get to know each other, but also become closer friends,” ChiChi said. “Something about experiencing that type of unity in our team makes me really grateful to be apart of Exeter track and field.”

Asante commented on the team’s caring atmosphere. “Everyone on the team is supportive and going to practices and meets was refreshing because I got to be around teammates who supported and pushed each other,” he said.

The team had fun while pushing each other to make them the very best they could be. Practice was thought of as something to look forward to, and the team was also considered a “family,” according to lower Dolapo Adedokun. “It is a positively competitive environment where everyone strives to do better. Not only this, but everyone on the team is warm and welcoming.” he said.

The team made a mark on this year’s graduating class who are sentimental about the bitter-sweet feeling of the end of their Exeter career.  “I'm gonna miss how close the team was and I know they'll never be another track team like this one,” Ikpeazu said.

Vaughns agreed. “I am really going to miss this team because the family dynamic is truly unlike any other. The track team has been a huge part of my Exeter experience and I am blessed to have been a part of it,” he said.