After finishing in second place in the Herget this past winter with a 4-2 record, Girls Track and Field is fighting the four feet of snow and preparing for their upcoming spring season. To finish out their indoor season, Girls Indoor Track and Field placed eighth at the Division III Championship Meet with a total of 22 points — their highest ever point total at Divisionals.
Going into the spring season, Walpole looks to repeat their impressive 6-1 record of last year. The team only lost to Wellesley, a perennially strong team that will definitely be one of Walpole’s toughest opponents again this year. Along with Wellesley, Natick and Milton will be two of Walpole’s biggest challenges for dual meet competition. During indoor, Walpole lost to Natick by a very close score of 52-48, and they beat Milton by another close score of 53-47. Both these meets came down to the very last event: the 4×400 meter relay.
However, this season, Walpole’s biggest strength will be their versatility. In the winter, the team qualified 15 athletes to the Division III meet, in every single event besides three. Also, with senior Captains Claire Rinne, Brianna Conley, Katie Carter, Allie Morris, Lucy Lynch, Colleen O’Connor and Caitlin Campbell leading the team, each event group should have the necessary focus and individualized effort to excel.
“I think having at least one captain per event group will allow each athlete to be the best they can be,” said Conley. “Each event group has its own special bond, and this bond inspires the girls to do better in order to support their teammates.”
Rinne, who qualified for the Division III Meet this past indoor season in the 55 meter hurdles for the first time in her track career, will be leading the group of hurdlers. Following in her footsteps is sophomore Kelsey Mazzocca, who struggled through an ankle injury early in the indoor season but set a new personal record of 10.33 in the 55 meter hurdles.
With former Captain Olivia O’Hara the only sprinter to graduate last year, the team has many returning varsity sprinters coming back for the spring. In the 100 and 200 meter races, the team will look to Conley, Carter and juniors Hiromi Kondo and Sarah Perkins to lead the large group of underclassman, including sophomores Lindsay Cordopatri and Devin McKinney. Also, the 4×400 relay group, consisting of junior Tori Lynch and seniors Emma Hunt, Maureen Herlihy, and Kathryn Lawton, will be one of the team’s strongest assets, looking to beat the outdoor school record set last year.
For jumping, Carter will lead a group of veteran long jumpers and triple jumpers. Over the winter, the group of long jumpers all competed at the Reggie Lewis Center, and each set new indoor personal records. On the other hand, the triple jumpers, Kondo and Mazzocca, have not practiced triple jumping since last year and will have to wait for the snow to clear off the track before they can practice.
As for the distance runners, Morris, who ran her second best time ever in the unseeded Emerging Elite two mile (11:16) at New Balance Nationals at the Armory on March 13th, will lead the milers and two-milers. Following very closely in her footsteps will be freshman Sarah Tierney who was a part of the 4×800 team that made it all the way to All-States in the winter.
Lastly, in shot put, javelin, and discuss, Campbell will lead a group of experienced throwers. With the loss of graduates Catherine Murphy and Anna Orfanidis, several throwers will have to step up to fill their shoes.
Walpole’s first regular season meet is scheduled for April 1 at home. However, with the several feet of snow and ice still covering the track, the start of the season is likely to be pushed back. Nevertheless, Walpole started running outside on March 16, enduring the inconvenient weather conditions, and doing all they can in order to prepare for their first meet against Braintree.
