Mackenzie Lewis
Sports Editor
@MLewisCourant
Over break, while most students were vacationing or spending time relaxing, the girls indoor track and field team participated in post-season competitions.With the season coming to a close, many members of the team left their mark on the program by qualifying for FCIACs, states, and even state opens.
The team had been preparing for these meets since the beginning of the season, and improvement in previous meets secured the Rams a spot in championship matchups. Senior captain Beth Kelley has seen a great improvement among the runners. “I think the team has definitely gotten much better this season,” she said. “We saw a lot of younger girls qualify and built two really great relay teams make it to both FCIACS and states.”
In the FCIAC championship meet on Saturday, February 7th, New Canaan’s 4×800 meter relay team took 7th place with a time of 10:36.44. The team was made up of freshmen Chloe McAuliffe and Sarah Jane O’Connor, and sophomores Lauren Carlson and Drew Davis. The relay team took this competitiveness with them to the states meet held a week later on Friday, February 13th.
Since the team was missing two girls due to February break, the younger runners stepped up as substitutes to compete in the states meet. The 4×800 meter relay team was made up of freshmen Chloe, Cali Brannan and Victoria Gray , and sophomores Drew, Annalee Greespon, and Kimmie Hynes, and finished in eleventh place with a time of 10:51.32. “It was really cool that our 4×800 meter relay team was missing two of the usual girls and still was only about a second over their practice run at the states meet,” Beth said. “The whole middle and long distance team trained a lot this season and it showed in the fact that so many people were able to be competitive at that level.”
Cali was also happy with the team’s placement in the state championship meet. “We had been pushing ourselves all season to make it there and the bond in our 4×800 team has grown stronger and stronger,” she said. “It was amazing to share that experience with my teammates and next year I hope we go back to states and do even better.”
The Rams’ other relay team also had a run in the postseason. The 4×200 medley relay team placed twelfth in the FCIAC meet with a time of 1:58:12. The team was made up of freshmen Katie Kennelly and Freia Miernedorf, as well as juniors Jane Reed and Mary Wise. At the states meet, the team finished in twenty-second place with a score of 1:59:20. “The 4×200, which was made up of Ali Deambrosio, Mary Wise, Jane Reed, and Sophia Bozella, was very strong, as expected after everything they’ve done this season with the help of the coaches,” Beth said.
The 4×800 and 4×200 teams were not the only group of girls that did well in the postseason. Beth, a pole vaulter, placed highly in both the FCIAC and states meets, and even qualified for state opens. At FCIACs, Beth placed second with a score of 8-06.00. She then moved on to states where she earned sixth place with a score of 9-00.00, which qualified her for the state opens competition. “I’m really glad I had the chance to go to state opens, I didn’t expect to qualify,” Beth said. “I was just happy to have another chance to try everything we’ve been working on since this season has been cut so short by snow days.”
At state opens, Beth once again finished with a score of 9-00.00, receiving her in twelve place.
Cali felt that the practice and effort that the team has put into the season was reflected in the post-season meets. “Everyone has improved in either events that they have been doing for years, or in new ones that they have only done this season,” she said. “I felt extremely proud of my team when we qualified for states because we worked really hard to get our time down to the qualifying time.”
Many of the team’s runners will continue to compete in spring outdoor track and field. The team is looking forward to running again and hopes to take what they have achieved in indoor and improve their times in outdoor. “By now a lot of girls know what they’ll be running in the spring and have a good idea of what they need to be doing to get better,” Beth said. “I hope that everyone will be running in the off-season so that we can start outdoor already thinking about being ready for FCIAC and states.”
