On April 24, the Walpole Girls Track team defeated Dedham for their first win of the season. As a team, the girls set a total of 33 personal records. The girls beat Dedham 94-42 to make their record 1-4.
The Rebels started off the meet strong by sweeping the two mile. Sophomore Gina Conti led the girls by taking first place in race for the Rebels, finishing at 12:13.9. Not only did Conti PR, but she qualified for states. Freshman Allie Morris stole second place as she reached a time of 13:16. Following Morris, freshman Kathryn Lawton completed the sweep by taking third. Lawton PR’d with a time of 13:31.3 as well. Continuing their success in the distance events, sophomore Gabbi Petruzziello won the mile with a time of 5:58 – a new PR for her. A few seconds behind Petruzziello was sophomore Mackenzie Wilson who stole second place and PR’ed with a time of 6:01.2. In the 800 meter race, junior Megan Peterson led the girls by winning the race with a PR of 2:30.3. Seconds behind Peterson, sophomore Megan Jenkins stole second place to PR with a time of 2:37. Junior Mary Reedy PR’d in the 800 by finishing at 2:45.8. Also, sophomore Nicole D’Andrea PR’d with 3:09.9. To conclude the distance events, Conti came back to run the 400 meter race after the two mile with junior Maddy Shea. It was Shea’s first time running the 400 meter race this season. Shea had a strong performance by finishing in first with a time of 60.8. Conti was only seconds behind Shea to take second place for the Rebels with a time of 61.5.
During the meet there were two athletes that stood out of the whole team because of their stellar performance against Dedham. Senior Erin McCarthy scored a total of 18 points and placed first in three of her events. McCarthy ran an amazing 100m race by taking an easy first place as well as PR’ing in her race with 12.9. Her next event was the 200m race in which she surged ahead of the crowd again to steal another first place for her team. McCarthy’s third event was the triple jump in which she was also able to take a first place and her last even where she stepped down to take second was yet another PR for her in the long jump where she was finally able to break 16 feet with 16’1”. Along with McCarthy, junior Michelle Monahan also had a very big day by beating her own school record from last year in the discus. She threw the discus a whopping 104’4”, and although she did not place in this event she was able to PR in the javelin with 67’1”.
The sprinting and hurdling events were very favorable for the Rebels with the amount of PR’s and places the athletes were able to achieve. For the 100m, senior Lizzy Almeda got third place and narrowly beat out a competitor. As for the PR’s, junior Emma Comiskey ran a PR of 14.1. The amount of freshmen to PR was bountiful – Briana Conley ran a 14.9, Lexi Fasanello ran a 15, Michaela Shea ran a 15.2, Emma Lochhead ran a 15.5, and Emerald Walsh and Justine Brown both ran a 16. As for the 200, the list for PR’s is a bit shorter. Freshman Leah Keyes stood out of the crowd by scoring a point by taking third place and PR’ing with a time of 28.9. Comiskey added onto her second PR by getting 29.1. Fasanello, Shea and fellow freshman Allie Iannoni all got PR’s as well getting times of 31.6, 32.6, and 39. Freshman Claire Rinne pulled through for Walpole by getting second place in the 100 hurdles with a PR of 19.14. To add on to her victory, junior Jacqui Conley placed her first in the 400 hurdles.
The Rebels were successful in both relays. For the 4×100, a new team was built up consisting of freshmen Leah Keyes, Brianna Conley, Katie Carter, and Maureen Herlihy. The group of girls was able to beat Dedham with a time of 56.3. The freshmen 4×100 showed potential for the future and will hopefully PR in the final meets of the season. In the 4×400, the girls were also successful. This team consisted of junior Jacqui Conley, senior Steph Desantis, and sophomores Megan Jenkins and Gabbi Petruzziello. The girls took first in the relay with a time of 4:48.
When it came to the field events, Walpole continued their domination over the lowly Marauders of Dedham. To follow up Monahan’s first place victory in the discus, Almeda got third place. There were also two PR’s made by DeSantis and senior Nicole Lazarro with the distances of 83’9” and 65’6”. Next in line was the shot put where senior Natalie Doyle placed second and threw a PR of 28’7.5”, subsequent to Doyle’s throw Almeda stole yet another third place. As for the last throwing event, DeSantis took second place and Doyle succeeded in getting a PR of 84’1” for javelin. Comiskey got a third PR of 80’1” along with freshman Caitlin Campbell in which she threw a 74’0.5” for her own PR. In the jumps, sophomore Savonna Small-Brown scored for second place to take a PR of 31’1” and returning starjunior Nicole Brown finished off the triple jump with third place. Brown also placed in the high jump to take second place and for the long jump junior Maddy Shea took first place.
The Rebels were elated to finally add a win to their record which came as a relief for the athletes and the coaches. Their performance was indeed a stellar one and hopefully they will carry on a streak of wins for their upcoming meets. The Walpole Girls Track next meet is against Milton next Thursday, May 3, there are expectations of it being a tough meet, but if the athletes continue to display hard work and determination then Milton will have to prepare for an ultimate challenge. There is also a Division II Relay Meet this upcoming Sunday, May 6, in which select athletes will be participating in. The events that the Walpole Girls will be participating in are the Javelin, and Discus Relay as well as the long jump, 4×100 and 4×800.
