Monday, November 12, 2012

Girls’ Indoor Track Aims High

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By Molly Bell

With a team roster nearly triple the size or more of the other DHS sports teams, the girls’ indoor track team has had a consistently talented roster of hurdlers, sprinters, throwers, pole vaulters, and distance runners. The 2012-2013 season is no exception, and with a stacked senior class, the girls have high hopes for another successful season. Led by senior captains Grace Loh, Sophie Long, Lizzie Heaney, and Eleanor Smith, they are a team to watch out for in the FCIAC conference as well as Class L.
At the beginning of the season, many sports team set postseason goals for themselves. According to captain Grace Loh, “We got second in both FCIACs and states during indoor last year so we're looking to better those results. We also won FCIACs in outdoor last year so we're hoping to carry that through to this season”. In a controversial decision two days after the Class L meet, the CIAC stripped the team of its class L title due to a scoring error which made opposing team Windsor the state champion by just one point. This heartbreaking loss has fueled the athletes to work harder to capture the Class L title they rightfully deserve.
The team also took 2nd place in the highly competitive FCIAC conference, however, they are striving to win first place. The girls are the reigning FCIAC East champions, with a terrific performance in which they beat arch-rival New Canaan by a whopping 97 points. This year, indoor track has lots of upperclassmen and underclassmen talent. Sophomore Anne Johnston, coming off a record-breaking cross country season, is one of the team’s top distance runners ready to succeed in her second season of indoor track. Freshman standout Maddie Schneider is back and ready for the season after training with “F Track” (Fall Track). An extremely talented athlete, this hurdler, sprinter, and pole vaulter is coming off her first season in which she won the pole vault in the outdoor FCIAC championships, clearing 10 ft.
For the upperclassmen, Senior Grace Loh placed an excellent 24thh place at the State Open cross country championships. A strong 2 mile runner, she also set a personal best with a 5:07 mile at the outdoor track State Opens. She is eager to improve in her final indoor track season for the Blue Wave. Junior Catherine Lacy, one of the many incredibly talented Blue Wave “trackies”, was a triple winner in the FCIAC East championships, winning the high jump, long jump, and 45 meter dash. Captain Eleanor Smith is also talented in the long jump, high jump, and pole vault, contributing to the great Darien success in these events. Captain Lizzie Heaney has been sprinting for the Blue Wave since freshman year and steadily improved each season. Junior thrower Taylor McDonald has also shown improvement in the shot put and comes in as one of Darien’s best throwers.
One of the greatest runners on the team, Captain Sophie Long runs mainly the 600 meter, and sometimes the 300 as well as the 4 by 400 and 4 by 800 relays. She is also in her fourth indoor and outdoor track season. When asked about the upcoming season, she remarked, “We have a very strong team returning because we lost only a couple of seniors from last year. We lost States by a point last year and are hoping to regain the title after a couple of years of coming in second. We have a lot of talented kids and are hoping everyone has a strong season!” All in all, the 2012- 2013 Girls’ Indoor Track team is a talented team and a strong contender for the FCIAC and Class L championships. Come by and watch the girls in action on Friday December 14 at 4:00 P.M. at the New Haven Invitational for the varsity runners and Saturday December 15 at 9:30 A.M. at the Reindeer Relays in Wilton. 

Caption: Senior captains (from left to right) Grace Loh, Lizzie Heaney, Sophie Long, and Eleanor Smith with coach Steve Norris.


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