The NYA Panthers Outdoor Track and Field teams competed in their first meet of the season on Thursday at the Hyde School in Bath, ME. This was a MAISAD competition and 6 teams were in attendance. The Girls team was able to pull out a decisive victory winning the meet with 173 points over runner-up Hyde School – Woodstock, CT with 91 points. On the boys side the small squad of 13 boys were able to pull out a 4th place finish.
In the 100m hurdles Jillian Bjorn-Caron, Sonia Lin, Lizzie Lewis, and Adrienne Tracy were all able to score points for the team finishing 2-4-5-6 respectively. Jillian and Sonia were also able to provisionally qualify for the state meet with outstanding early season times of 18.5h, and 18.7h. In the 300m hurdles Jillian and Lizzie doubled back to finish 2-3 respectively. All in total the girls earned 29 points for the team in the hurdles alone.
In the sprints Xander Bartone led the way for the boys team against a strong field finishing 4th in a provisional state qualifying time of 11.7h. This time is a new NYA Freshman record as well. El Tayeb was next up for NYA and while he did not score any points for the team he was able to run almost half a second faster than his career best. In the 200m Xander Bartone broke another NYA freshman record finishing the race in 23.8h which was good for first place AND an automatic state qualifier. Both boys who ran the 400m for NYA scored points for the team as El Tayeb and John LeBlanc finished 1-4 respectively. On the girls side Liz McIntosh led the way for the girls with a 2nd place finish followed closely by Carlota Rodriguez (3rd) and Lindsay Tufts (4th). This group of 3 sprinters are all sophomores or younger so the future is bright! In the 200m Sonia Lin led the way for NYA with a 2nd place finish folowed closely by Lindsay Tufts (3rd) and Carlota (4th). Like the boys, the girls 400m saw both girls who competed score points for the team as Muriel Adams and Adrienne Tracy both scored points for the team by finishing 5-6 respectively. There were many other athletes who competed in the sprints on Thursday and their results can be found here.
In the throws Kayla Rose and Muriel Adams dominated the competition in the discus finishing 1-2 respectively. Both girls qualified automatically for the state meet with their strong performances. On the boys side Chase Gendron struggled to stay in the ring for all but 1 of his throws and was almost able to hold on to sixth place but missed by 2 inches. In the shot put Muriel and Kayla teamed up again to score for the team placing 2-5. On the boys side Chase was close this career best with a throw of 38-11 which was good for 4th place and also a state provisional qualifying mark.
The jumps saw Clayton Manchester and Linnea Hull both finish strong in the pole vault. Clayton won the boys competition with his vault of 8′ while Linnea was 2nd in the girls competition with 6’6″. Linnea’s clearance was good for an automatic bid to the state meet. In the high jump Liz McIntosh won the event with a clearance at 4’4″ while Lindsay Tufts was 4th at 4’2″. On the boys side Jake Malcom hit a career best clearing 4’8″. In the long jump Sonia Lin, Carlota Rodriguez, and Linnea Hull combined to earn 13 points for the team finishing 2-4-6 respectively. On the boys side Austin Kidder had a strong first showing in the event with his state provisional qualifying mark of 18’2″ which was good for 4th place. Abrahim Al Musawi also had a strong day beating his career best performance by almost a foot.
John LeBlanc and Matt Malcom led the way for the boys distance squad. John finished 4th in the 800m while Matt established himself as the premier running in the MAISAD league with clear wins in both the 1500m and the 3000m. Both of Matt’s times earned spots on the top 5 all-time list for NYA. On the girls side Hannah Austin and Charlotte Eisenberg led the way for NYA in the 800m finishing 2-5 respectively. Hannah’s time was not only a career outdoor best by almost 3 seconds but was also an automatic state qualifying time. In the 1500m Claire Maurer and Charlotte teamed up to finish 4-5 with Charlotte’s time representing a huge 13 second career best. In the 3000m Hannah Austin was NYA’s sole representative with a 2nd place finish which was good for a new NYA junior record and only .1 seconds off of her career best.
The relays were, as is tradition, a strength for NYA on Thursday as the girls 4×100 of McKenzie Larson, Sonia Lin, Jillian Bjorn-Caron, and Liz McIntosh combined for a 2nd place finish. The boys 4×100 struggled a bit with exchanges after a last minute substitution and was disqualified. In the 4x400m the boys (Xander, El Tayeb, John, and Jin Yao) combined for a strong effort to finish in 2nd with a sub 4 minute performance. The girls team of Muriel, Lizzie, Jillian, and Sonia came from behind to win the event in 5:11.
Overall it was a phenomenal first meet for the Panthers. Given the 40 degree temperatures and the strong winds the times, distances, and heights are clear indicators of great things to come. Congrats to Lizzie Lewis and Jin Yao – the first recipients of the golden shoe this year! The teams will be back in action on Saturday the 26th at Hebron Academy for the 2nd of 2 regular season MAISAD competitions.
For more photos click here