Shorthanded Warriors rise to the occasion in 74-62 victory
ALLEE PURCELL, a junior, scored 15 points for the Warriors in their victory against Burlington. Purcell cleared 4’11” to win the high jump. The junior also ran a first place time of 12.7 seconds in the 100 and posted a PR time of 60.2 seconds for first in the 400. (Donna Larsson File Photo)
Published in the May 4, 2017 edition.
BURLINGTON — The Wakefield Memorial High girls’ outdoor track team was missing two of its key athletes for its dual meet against Burlington on Tuesday afternoon at Varsity Field.
Even though the Warriors were shorthanded, the rest of the athletes in uniform put in a terrific effort as Wakefield prevailed over the Red Devils by a 74-62 score to increase its record to 3-0 and remain on course for a second straight Middlesex League Freedom division championship.
“It was an incredible team win. To win a meet you have to score 69 points,” said head coach Karen Barrett. “We were missing Abigail Harrington due to injury and (Alex) Rollins due to sickness. Together they usually score 25 points.
“We got together for a team meeting and told the girls that this was the day for everyone to step up and help the team,” added Barrett. “I described us like the New England Patriots. If someone gets hurt, we need someone else to get the job done. The girls certainly responded!”
Lillian Jones, a freshman, ran a seven second PR in the 400 hurdles for first place. She ran a time of 71.9 seconds which earned her a varsity letter. Michelle Maffe, a sophomore, was third with a PR time of 77.0 seconds.
Maffe also took third in the triple jump with a PR of 30’1”.
Isabella Kehoe, a sophomore, and Retta Carroll, a freshman, were first and second in the mile with a 5:58 and a 6:14, both PR’s. All the girls that didn’t score points in the mile also ran personal bests.
Junior Allee Purcell had a fabulous day scoring 15 points. She won the high jump with a height of 4”11”, won the 100 meter dash with a time of 12.7 seconds, and won the 400 meter run in 60.2 seconds which is a PR for her.
“I was extremely impressed with her performance today!,” said Barrett.
Olivia Fetherston, a freshman, took third in the high jump as she cleared 4’8” and third in the long jump with a PR distance of 14’9.25”.
Junior Ana Lucas had a fantastic day scoring 13 points for the team. She won the long jump with a leap of 15’8.25”, won the 200 meter dash in 28.0 seconds, and took second in the 100 meter dash with a time of 13.0 seconds.
“All three of these performances were personal bests (PR). She works really hard and it sure payed off for her,” said Barrett.
Eadeen Beck, a sophomore, had a great day throwing scoring eight points for the team. She took second in the shot with a throw of 31’3.75” She threw a PR in the disc to win it with a toss of 85”2’.
“She stepped up huge for the absent Rollins!,” said Barrett.
Rachel Cook, a freshman, took first place in the javelin with a PR distance of 75’7”.
“I was so impressed at how the throwers stepped up for the team,” said Barrett.
Marissa Hoffman, a senior, scored Wakefield’s only points in the 100 hurdles taking second with a PR time of 18.6 second.
Ava Vaughan, a sophomore, scored a point in the 100 meter dash taking third with a time of 13.6 seconds.
Freshman Olivia Lucey and senior Cassie Lucci took second and third in the 800 meter run. Lucey did a great job running a 2:32 for her first time ever competing in that race. Lucci ran a 2:33 which was a personal best for her.
In the 400 meter run, freshman Kailtin Sweeny earned her first varsity letter as he clocked in at 66.0 seconds.
Jordan Stackhouse, a senior, and Gillian Russell, a junior, closed out the point scoring taking a first and second in the two mile running times of 12:19 and 12:29. Both girls ran fantastic and looked very strong throughout the race.
“This was the ultimate team win! I could not be prouder of the effort and attitude these girls had today (Tuesday),” said Barrett. “Everyone of them gave it 100 percent. As a coach, it was very gratifying to see. We will now prepare for the Freshman/Sophomore and Twilight Meet this weekend.”
