News Reporter
After completing a tough regular season schedule, the Choate Boys and Girls Track & Field Teams headed to Trinity-Pawling for the 5th Founders League Championship meet on the 13th of May. According to Coach Youker, “Choate was able to post some outstanding marks from its athletes.” The boys put up a good effort but only managed to garner 49 points. The team placed 7th behind the host team, Trinity-Pawling, who easily won the boys title this year with 126 points. However, on the girls’ side, Choate, Hotchkiss, and Taft all battled for the top spot. At the end of the day, Hotchkiss came out on top with 117 points, Taft secured the two spot with 110 points, and Choate finished third with 94 points.
The boys’ team had an uneven season prior to the Founders Championships. With a record of 3-4, the boys had strong wins against archrival Deerfield, Westminster, and the eventual champs, Trinity-Pawling. However, they could not pull off another win this time around.
The team entered the Founders meet with a disappointing loss (36-109) to NMH on the previous Wednesday. Greg Borelli ’06 was the only Choatie to win first-place honors in his event and added ten points towards the team’s total. He finished first in the shot put competition with a throw of 55’06.25”. According to Coach Youker, “Borelli’s top mark in the shot places him 3rd on the all-time shot put list.” Borelli also finished second in the discus competition with a throw of 132’10.5”. Michael Morrill ’06 also had a strong second place finished in the 800m race. “Morrill’s run sets him at 7th on the metric 800 m list,” said Coach Youker.
Dann Canatta ’08 finished 5th in the 400 m with a time 51.77 seconds. Even though he is only a sophomore, “Canatta’s [dash] sets him 7th on the all-time 400m list,” stated Coach Youker. Channing Tookes ‘07 finished fourth in the triple jump by covering 38’10.5”.
“All of our runners have made solid improvements this season, have handled the weather, and have worked hard,” said Distance Coach Jim Davidson, “Good leadership by our captains too.” The captains are Mike Morrill ’06 and Francis Yook for the boys, and Molly West ’06 and Jalessa Murrell ’06 for the girls.
The girls’ team, on the other hand, had a very successful season. They finished 4-1 on their regular schedule with convincing wins against Deerfield, Taft, Westminster, and the Founders champs, Hotchkiss. Though their male counterparts had a rough go in the league championships, the girls had a strong-showing at the Founders meet.
In addition to first place finishes by Juliana Hernandez ’08 in the discus competition (100’03”) and Yaneve Fonge ’07 in the shot put contest (36’03.5”), the Wild Boars posted solid second place marks. Captain Jalessa Murrell ’06 finished second in both the 100m hurdles (17.06) and triple jump (32’08.5”). Julianne Fowler ’09 got second in the 3000 m (11:32.42), and Juliana Hernandez ’08 also finished second in the shot put (35’03.5”).
According to Coach Youker, “Hernandez moves up on the all-time shot and discus lists with her performances. She now stands at 4th and 5th respectively.” Yaneve Fonge ’07 won second place honors in the javelin with a throw of 91’09” as well.
Even though the Choate Track & Field teams did not have a home meet all season—the lone home contest against Loomis was rained out and not rescheduled—the Wild Boars competed strongly throughout the league. Both track teams defeated eventual Founders League champions during the regular season. The boys beat Trinity-Pawling in a close meet 74-69. The girls beat Hotchkiss in a meet that also included Greenwich Academy. Also, the girls defeated Taft 73-71 in the first meet of the season in another very close match-up.
Even though the track teams did not finish as close to the top as they had hoped during the Founders League meet, several Wild Boars managed to attain personal records. “Jalessa Murrell ’06 garnered a new school record and the top spot on the 100m hurdle list by running a 15.8 seconds at Choate’s dual meet against NMH,” said Coach Youker.
Jalessa is now preparing to improve on her second-place finish in last year’s New England Championships. “Her talent is not restricted to the high hurdles, however, as she is also fifth all time in the triple jump and eighth in the 300m hurdles and long jump,” stated Coach Youker. With stars like Murrell leading the way, both Choate teams will give it a good run at the New England Track & Field Championships this Saturday, the 20th at Loomis Chaffee.
