centaurs pg 1 4-11-24
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Girls’ Track Preview
Centaurs
bring back
talented bunch
The Woodstock Academy girls’ track team reached some lofty goals last season.
It claimed the ECC Div. I regular season championship.
It followed that up with a first-place finish in the ECC Division I & II championship meet and then finished fourth in Class MM, breaking numerous school records along the way.
“It can,” coach Josh Welch said when asked if the team could meet those lofty standards set a year ago. ”It’s going to be tough. NFA showed in indoor that it has come back a little bigger than last year. In terms of No. 1 finishers, we have a lot of star power going on right now. We have a handful of kids who can be (league) champions, the question will be, how much can the other teams break everything up after that especially at the championship meet. Dual-meet wise? We’re going to be tough to beat. We have a lot of potential to put a lot of firsts on the board.”
Senior Reegan Reynolds, who competes in jumps and middle distance, said: “We have a lot of great returning athletes and a lot of younger girls who have stepped up and are willing to try new events this year which is huge. We’ve lost a good amount of throwers and it’s good to see the younger girls stepping in who want to try it.”
Junior Juliet Allard will be a focal point as she attempts to add to her long list of school indoor and outdoor track school records.
“I think I am at seven,” she said. “I’m looking to get the 4x400 (meter relay) outdoor record (with Julia Coyle, Talia Tremblay and Emma Weitknecht) and maybe the outdoor 400m record.”
Allard also participates in the 300m hurdles and sprints as well as middle distance.
“She is going to be something else in the 300m, her 300 indoor time came down so low that by the time we convert it to hurdles, I can’t anticipate her not being in the top several in New England this year. I think she will be there if she stays steady,” Welch said.
He also has senior Jill Edwards back who is one of the best in the ECC in the high jump and is also a good hurdler.
The 4x800m just missed qualifying for New England last year and Olivia Tracy, Tremblay, Julia Coyle and Isabel D’Alleva-Bochain are all back as is the 4x400m group.
Coyle, Tracy and Kira Greene will all be strong in the distance.
“I really think we have a strong distance group this season. We have a lot of returning girls who did cross-country and indoor. Overall, the distance group is always very strong, always dedicated. We show up every day and put in the work. We have a lot to look forward to this season,” Coyle said.
Coyle is one of only six seniors on the roster, Corinne LaMontagne and Briana Botelho are two of the others along with Reynolds, Tremblay and Edwards.
The Centaurs did lose some athletes including distance runners Lauren Brule and Tessa Brown and throwers like Bella Sorrentino and Magdalena Myslenski.
Fortunately, there is talent on the rise.
“We have a bunch of young kids who are solid. Avery Plouffe is a force to be reckoned with. She’s killing it in the shotput and loves the other throws as well. I’ve never seen her do them so she could be a fantastic javelin thrower. It sounds like she struggles a little with discus but it’s her first season with it and the progress on that can be tremendous when someone locks it in,” Welch said.
Myslenski was also a threat for points in the pole vault.
Sophomore Emma Quinney will try and step into Myslenski’s shoes in that event. She just missed qualifying for States in the pole vault in indoor track.
D’Alleva-Bochain returns as a sophomore and has the potential to be one of the best 800m runners in the state.
A newcomer on the rise is freshman Elise Coyle who is concentrating on middle distance and jumps.
The Centaurs still have plenty of time to practice.
Some of the roster too part in the Bloomfield Invitational last weekend.
Others will participate in the Patriot Games in Coventry this weekend.
But the first dual meet won’t take place until April 24 in East Lyme.
“That’s tricky. Initially, we were going to end up with East Lyme in the middle of spring break and that would not have gone well. We had three or four kids right off the bat that we know we need, gone. East Lyme was helpful in finding another date and hosting. It puts everyone a little later. It means we have a shot at that meet, but it means we have back-to-back-to back for the rest of the season. Finding the training time will be tricky,” Welch said.
Marc Allard
Director of Sports Information
The Woodstock Academy
Point-Getters
From left: Senior Julia Coyle, junior Juliet Allard and senior Reegan Reynolds will be three of the top point-getters for the Centaurs girls’ track team. Photo by Marc Allard/Woodstock Academy.
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