Track athletes sprint toward a season of growth
Jack Silva, Logan Shurtleff, and Isaac Bartholomew race. Photos by Abby Van Selous
Junior Gabby Florestal competes in the shot put.
Senior Emma Silva runs with a pool tube during the anything-but-a-baton relay.
Using a teammate during the anything-but-a-baton relay race.
Freshman Lily Shi sprints down the track.
A pack of Dartmouth athletes compete in the 1,000 meter.
Senior Fabio Pereira sprints in the 55-meter dash.
Senior Cameron Sorelle attempts to clear the high jump pole.
Junior Chase Afonso clears the high jump pole.
Junior Karina Jeronimo and a Bishop Stang athlete get in their blocks for the 55-meter dash.
Jack Silva, Logan Shurtleff, and Isaac Bartholomew race. Photos by Abby Van Selous
Junior Gabby Florestal competes in the shot put.
Senior Emma Silva runs with a pool tube during the anything-but-a-baton relay.
Using a teammate during the anything-but-a-baton relay race.
Freshman Lily Shi sprints down the track.
A pack of Dartmouth athletes compete in the 1,000 meter.
Senior Fabio Pereira sprints in the 55-meter dash.
Senior Cameron Sorelle attempts to clear the high jump pole.
Junior Chase Afonso clears the high jump pole.
Junior Karina Jeronimo and a Bishop Stang athlete get in their blocks for the 55-meter dash.
Dartmouth High School track athletes ran laps around the Carlin Lynch track while throwers competed in the shot put and jumpers reached new heights in the high jump during an indoor track meet held on Wednesday, Jan. 28.
Indoor track meets consist of a variety of events that fall under sprints, distance, jumps and throws. And each discipline requires a different type of athlete.
“It takes a whole bunch of different types of athletes to make a complete team,” said Peter Breault, the head coach for the boys team.
He added, “You need strong athletes who can throw and jump, and then you need a really quick, short burst athletes who can run sprints. Any kind of athlete helps fill out a track team because it's not only a bunch of different events, but you need numbers to compete at a team level."
This year, the boys team is a bit bottom heavy, with the team consisting of mostly underclassmen.
"This year it was really about, ‘hey, can we watch some of these freshmen? Let’s see how they grow into sophomores, and it turns out we have a ton of point scorers that are sophomores,” Breault said.
Captain and senior Nick Mota noted that the team lost a lot of seniors last year, particularly in the running events.
“This year was supposed to be more just like a rebuild, find which guys can do what events,” he said.
The girls team entered the season with many returning point scorers, particularly in the senior class.
"We were excited to start with them and see if they could compete for a league championship," Breault said.
Captain Olivia Rapoza said the team didn't start the season off with many PRs, but have turned this around.
“We’ve had a lot of great practices and we've definitely been putting in the work,” she said.
The Wednesday, Jan. 28 meet ended a little differently than usual, with seniors competing in a relay where they could hand-off anything they wanted, so long as it wasn't a baton. One relay team carried an inflatable crayon, another carried a spare tire and a third ran with a teammate on his back.
"That's our little flair to ... sprinkle something in at the end for these kids to look forward to," Breault said. "It's just our special way of saying, 'thanks for all the hard work, now have some fun.'"
With the end of the regular season in sight, the boys and girls teams are turning their attention to fine tuning the work they've been putting in this season.
"We're going to do a lot more relay practice ... practicing handoffs, that sort of thing, to get their times down," said Caitlin McCarron-Deely, head coach of the girls team. "Other than that, we're just keeping them healthy and in shape for the end of the season."
