The Harwood Union varsity track and field team began their season strongly at South Burlington High School on Wednesday, April 15. The girls’ team flexed both veteran and younger talent, scoring 93 points for a second place overall finish. The boys’ team finished in ninth place overall with a score of 24 points.
Two senior veterans of the team finished well in their field events. Logan Merchant threw the javelin 31.64 meters for an eighth place finish. Indigo Leese performed in the unique triple jump event, where they placed fifth with a jump of 8.65 meters. “Both of these senior athletes faced some adversity throughout the day, whether it was due to injury or needing to quickly shuffle between events across the grounds. They used their veteran experience to push through and score points for their team,” said Jake Pitman, the head coach of the varsity track and field program at Harwood.
Returning right where they left off last season, Isabella Pockoski and Connor Rowley performed excellently in both the shot put and discus events. Pockoski won both shot put and discus, with marks of 9.43 and 33.67 meters, respectively. Rowley placed second in shot put and third in discus, with marks of 11.29 and 30.68 meters, respectively.
Distance runner Vince Wing waited patiently to compete in his events toward the end of the meet – the 3000-meter run and the 4x400-meter relay. He delivered two excellent performances for his team. Wing ran a time of 10:17.39 in the 3000-meter run, finishing in third place. He had to recover quickly for the very next event – the 4x400-meter relay – where he delivered a speedy anchor leg to bring the boys’ relay team home for a seventh place finish. The boys’ relay team consisted of Mason Jones, Beckett McElroy, Ryan Campbell, and Vince Wing. Their relay time was 4:16.89. The girls’ 4x400-meter relay team impressed as well, finishing in third place with a time of 4:51.81. This relay team consisted of Lily Bourbonnais, Rebecca Frank, Fiona Wanner, and Victoria Grace.
Harwood has some speedy freshmen. In a field of over sixty total athletes, Willow Thomas and Gia Gendimenico finished in second and fourth place in the 100-meter dash, with times of 13.55 and 13.84 seconds, respectively. The pair finished in second and fourth place in the 200-meter dash as well, with times of 27.99 and 28.26 seconds, respectively. The girls’ 4x100-meter relay team finished in second place with a time of 54.4 seconds. This relay team consisted of Campbell Skates, Willow Thomas, Anna Wulff, and Gia Gendimenico – all of whom are freshmen.
“The high school and middle school track and field programs are practicing together at the track each day, which has allowed for plenty of role-modeling opportunities. Strength training become the main driver of our early success. Those impressive eighth grade athletes – who won the state championship last season – are now in ninth grade, and they make up over half of our team. We’re excited to watch them improve throughout this season and beyond,” said Pitman.
As The Valley Reporter goes to press this week, Harwood’s next high school track and field meet is Wednesday, April 22 at Essex High School.
