By Dan Epstein and Andrew Gundal
Sports Reporters
The girls’ track and field team came up short as they were handed their first loss of the season on Wednesday by the Lincoln-Sudbury Warriors.
Despite the loss, the Lions put out some impressive performances. Calene Lazare’s 26.5 second 200 meter dash and a sweep of the two mile with fast times from senior Rebecca Grusby, junior Katie Collins, and sophomore Caroline Barry.
Yet the standout performance came from senior captain Lizzie Walkes who ran a blistering 12.5 seconds to win the 100 meter dash.
Coming off of a strong indoor season, capped with an All-American finish in the distance-medley relay at New Balance Nationals, Walkes came into the meet as the favorite against Lincoln-Sudbury. Walkes also competed in the triple jump, winning that event as well.
For the newcomers on the team, this first meet was valuable as it gave them good experience and allowed many to display their talent and potential.
However, for lots of the upperclassmen and the returners, this first meet was strenuous. Lincoln-Sudbury has been a dominant force in the Dual County league and Coach Steve McChesney could only describe them as “the juggernauts”.
Coming out of the meet, senior captain Caraline Pham was optimistic for the rest of the season.
“Our veterans are getting back into the swing of things,” said Pham, “even though we didn’t have the outcome we wanted, the results are very promising for the season we have ahead of us.”
Pham took first in the pole vault and qualified for the state championship meet after clearing 8 feet.
While the Lions may not have taken the win against the Warriors, McChesney was still proud of what his team accomplished last Wednesday.
“Whenever we go up against [Lincoln-Sudbury], sometimes our times can be really fast and our marks are a good starting point, and the score does not reflect the effort.”
The girls’ track and field team is looking to bounce back from this early defeat at home, this Wednesday, against Westford Academy.
