Andover Boys Step Up to Claim 2nd at NEPSTA Championship
The rain and lightning held off at Deerfield Academy on Saturday 5/17 just long enough for Boys PATF to claim 2nd overall at the Division 1 NEPSTA Championship.
While Exeter ran away with the win, several boys' teams battled it out for 2nd overall, with the result remaining undecided until the boys' 4x400m--the last event of the day. In a memorable finish, the Andover relay squad earned just enough points in the 4x400m to clinch the runner-up title at this year's championship.
The day included many outstanding performances:
- Bennett Rodgers repeated as the individual pole vault champion, vaulting 14' to kick off the exciting day for PATF.
- Next up, Kishan Clark, Tyler Baty, Ethan Brown, and Russell Robinson ran nearly 2 seconds faster than their season best in the 4x100m to claim 2nd overall in that event.
- After that, distance athletes saw outstanding success on the track. In the 1500m, Arashi Hunter ran a new personal best to claim 4th overall in that event, then he doubled back in the 800m to place third overall, claiming a total of 10 points for the team.
- Tam Gavenas fended off extremely strong distance fields in both the 1500m and the 3k, showing unbelievable determination to take 1st place with huge kicks in both events. In the 1500m, Tam set a new NEPSTA record. Overall, he earned 20 points for the team.
- At the very end of the day, Ethan Brown, Tyler Baty, Sean Kim, and Quentin Cynn ran a season-best time in the 4x400m (by 10 seconds) to earn just enough points to defend PATF's 2nd place finish in the championship overall.
- Other scorers on the boys' side included Xavier Moran (pole vault), Sean Pao (300m hurdles), Kamen Kaleb (high jump), and Marc Nelson (high jump).
In all, across PATF, 26 athletes contributed to the boys' and girls' team points, and out of those, 16 will return next year. PATF athletes won 9 events over the course of the day, set two new class records, two new school records, and two new NEPSTA meet records.