So far, Walpole’s Boys Spring Track team has been faring better than they had in winter this year. The team has faced three Herget teams already—Dedham, Wellesley, and Natick—and won twice while tying the third team, Natick. Because Walpole has not lost to another Herget Division team while all three of these other teams have, the Boys Spring track is now in first place to win the Herget. They have won it for the last five years and hope to continue the tradition for at least a sixth time, but there is still more competition to challenge: Specifically, Norwood and Milton.
In Winter Track, it was Norwood who took home the title of Herget champions. They beat Walpole, along with a few other teams, by a large amount, but as both teams have been improving since then, it’s difficult to determine the outcome of the meet with certainty. Norwood may have the edge on Walpole for sprinters, but with star senior PJ Hayes returning to the track, this may not be the case. For their team of distance runners, Norwood really only has two runners who can race competitively against Walpole. In the field events, such as throwing and jumps, Norwood has a strong crew. Their throwers excel especially in discus and shot put, but Walpole equals them in the javelin. They have a few people to match up to Walpole’s go-to guy, senior captain Connor McCarthy, in the jumps and sprints, so there may be trouble there as well.
Milton, on the other hand, should be an easier fish to fry. They have the same sort of team build as Norwood, but are not as strong all around. For starters, their sprinting team is not the best, for they did not give Norwood, a team Walpole should be on par with, a run for their money. The long distance squad they have is slightly better than Norwood’s, but still not enough to be a large threat to Walpole. Again, just like with Norwood, they will have to really heavily on field events if they wish to come out on top. They may have a slight disadvantage, though, because although their jumpers and throwers are slightly better than Norwood’s, there are less of them, so they won’t be able to rack up as many points.
If the numbers play out right, then Walpole should beat both these teams a win the Herget for a sixth time. The meet against Milton will be on Wednesday, May 1, and the one against Milton will be held the Wednesday after, May 8. The competition will be tight at some times and loose at others, but Walpole Boys Track has been known to get what needs to be done when the calling asks for it.
