Walpole Boys Indoor Track and Field officially entered the post season with the Bay State League Meet on February 6 and the Division III Championship on February 15. Over the two meets, the Rebels brought home two medals and one League Champion. At the Division III Championship, the team placed 14th overall with 11 points and qualified one athlete — senior Myles Cofield — for the All State Championship on February 22.
At the League Championships, Cofield was Walpole’s only winner of the night, with a photo finish in the 55 meter dash. Cofield ran a personal best with a time of 6.71 to be crowned Bay State League Champion. Teammate sophomore Lovevindjy Salvant ran to 5th place to run a personal best of 6.80. In the longer sprints, junior Tommy Helm ran a personal record in the 300 meter dash (38.60). Unfortunately, Helm fell at the finish line and ended his season prematurely due to a knee injury.
Also at the the Bay State League Championships, senior Jon Kelland competed in the 600 meter with a time of 1:28.28, only .10 off of his best this season. Junior Joe Keough ran a personal record in the 1000 meter run with a time of 2:45 — a time that qualified him for the Divisional Championship. Senior Mike Van Der Linden also qualified for the Division III Championships with a personal record of 10:20 in the 2 mile.
One week later, at the Division III Championship, Walpole scored two medals.
Seeded 4th in the 55m Dash, Cofield ran a time of 6.81 seconds in the preliminary rounds to win his heat. Ten minutes later, he repeated the race in the Finals and ran a time of 6.71 to place 3rd overall. Meanwhile, on the oval, although some of the athletes qualified individually (Kelland in the 600, Keough and junior Brendan Woehler in the 1000), the team decided to race a 4x800m that included those three and junior Ryan Nordstrom. Although that relay team had finished with a 8:33 time earlier in the year, the relay finished 6th overall with a time of 8:40.29.
Because the top three finishers at Divisionals automatically qualify for All-States, Cofield was the only boy to run in the All State Championships for Walpole on February 22. In the preliminary heat, he finished 9th and missed finals by .01.
With the close of the season, the boys now prepare for the spring season beginning on March 17. 2014. Although the boys did not win the Herget Title this Winter, they are the reigning champions for the outdoor season for the past 5 years and look to rebound this Spring season.
