Molly Keshin
Sports Editor
@mollykCourant
As the last leaves are falling off the trees and the temperature drops, the boys of indoor track are lacing up their shoes and stepping up to the starting line. Coming off of a successful postseason run, placing 6th out of 19 teams in FCIACs and 4th at the Class L State meet, senior co-captains Aidan Buck, Ryan McGough, James Neville, and Chris Roman are looking to lead the boys to an even better outcome this season.
Every year, the track boys face a split schedule: FCIAC and outside the FCIAC, which is comprised of invitational meets at Staten Island, Yale, Southern Connecticut State University, and the 168th Street Armory in New York City. While their schedule is dominated by meets outside of the league, the main goal of the team is to dominate their opponents. “Our goals are always to win our division and excel in FCIACs, and then go to the State class meet, State Open meet, and New Englands,” head coach Bill Martin said. “The only time you ever score as a team is at the divisional meet, which is why we always strive to win the division. We do have Wilton and Darien in our division, but Danbury, Ridgefield, and Staples are in the other division so we don’t have to clang heads all the time.”
Ryan feels that in order to succeed this season, the boys have to come together as a close-knit team, even though the team aspect of track doesn’t come together until the postseason. “We need to work more as a team, and less as individuals,” Ryan said. “Coach Martin stresses the fact that track is a team sport because we win the meet if we all do well together, not just if one person has a good race that day.”
After losing key seniors in Alex Ellsworth, Spencer Lyman, and Steven Singer, Coach Martin’s boys are ready to take on the challenge of filling their roles this year. Also, the team looks to continue their streak of setting the school record in the 4×800 as they have done in the past few years. “We’ve been able to break the school record in that relay with different boys every year, and we’ll try again this year,” Coach Martin said. “Last year there were three seniors, and a sophomore, Michael St. George. This year, Michael’s back, and Aidan will probably step forward, and then there’s a couple of sophomores that are really running well.”
Even though the team is looking strong, Coach Martin feels as though they are still going to have to fight hard in order to lead the FCIAC. “The thing about track and field is that it’s a numbers game,” Coach Martin said. “The more athletes you have, the more you can have the opportunity to score on all of the events. The FCIAC is a very strong league in track and field, so it’s going to be a constant uphill battle for us.”
The boys’ first meet is the Hillhouse Invitational at Hillhouse High School in New Haven on December 19.
