April 14th, 2018 – Deerfield T&F hosts Andover and Taft
Though winter continues to cling to life and smother any attempts spring makes to break through the clouds and wind, the track and field season officially kicked off on Saturday at Deerfield. A cold, blustery day greeted visitors from Phillips Andover and Taft for the inaugural tri-meet of the 2018 season. Athletes, coaches, and supporters alike braved the elements and enjoyed some gutsy—and gusty—competition culminating in wins for Andover’s boys and girls teams. Deerfield made it close on the boys’ side of the ledger, scoring 63 points to Andover’s 65. Taft was third with 52. Andover dominated the girls’ meet, scoring 102 points to Taft’s 51 and Deerfield’s 28.
For Deerfield’s boys, the day belonged to a trio of new additions to the Green & White. Greg Berces ’19 won the 100m, 200, anchored Deerfield’s winning 4x100m relay, and ran on a runner-up 4x400m team. His point-scoring efforts were nearly matched by Josh Stevens ’18, who won the shot put and discus throws, and captured 4th place in the javelin. Nate Battista ’18 also enjoyed a great debut for Deerfield, winning the 800m run and anchoring the 4x400m relay. Alton Machen ’20 led the way for Deerfield over both hurdle distances, capturing 2nd place in both the high and intermediate hurdle events in his Deerfield debut. He was joined in the 110m event by Ossie Heard ’18 (3rd place) and Inho Choi ’18 in the 300m event (4th place). Ethan Chen ’20 was a jumping all-star for Deerfield, winning the triple jump and placing third in the high jump, where his classmate and high jump newcomer Jared Faux ’20 took 2nd place.
On the girls’ side, Victoria Patterson ’20 lit up the frigid track with winning efforts in both the 1500m and 800m runs, as well as a speedy leadoff leg on the 4x400m relay that wound up 2nd to Andover. Noelle Abeyta ’21 enjoyed a strong debut for Deerfield on the track, finishing 3rd in both the 1500m and 800m, and her distance-running teammates Helen Downes ’18 and Sarah Jane O’Connor ’18 earned valuable points in the 3000m with their 3rd and 4th place finishes, respectively. In the field events, two new throwers helped add to Deerfield’s point total: Erin DeMarco ’19 finished 4th in her first discus competition, and Imani Kindness-Coleman ’18 took 4th overall in the shot put in her first crack at that event. Mina Liang ’19 might have had the busiest day for a Deerfield athlete, running a leg on the 4x100m relay, taking 3rd in the 200m dash, clearing 4’ 6” to take 4th place in the high jump, and then running the anchor leg on the 4x400m relay.
Deerfield’s next meet will bring a break from team scoring as the Green & White are set to host the 58th edition of The Hunt Relays on April 21st. This annual event brings together more than a dozen schools from all around New England for a day of fun relay action. Events kick off at 12:00 on the Moreau C. Hunt track.