This year, the Spring Track and Field team had its best season yet, culminating in the exciting first place win at the NEPSTA DIII Championships. The season started on March 17th while the weather was still pretty chilly, but the team was hard at work training on the hills in the neighborhoods of Montrose, circling Miracle field and completing countless lift circuits in Vinebrook. Our plans to train on the Xaverian track each Monday were cancelled several times by the constant afternoon rains. But the team persevered, showing up and doing our best at every track meet, despite our lack of technique practice and three of our original seven meets also being cancelled. During the season, countless personal records were set and reset week after week. We also had an incredible year of school records.
Grace Sanyu ‘25 broke the record in the 100m; Maddy Kerr ‘25 broke the record in the 800m and 1500m; Ali Hamel ‘27 broke the record in the 3000m; Genevieve Nohrden ‘27 broke the record in the 100m Hurdles, High Jump and Pole Vault; Eva Derendorf ‘25 broke the record in the 300M Hurdles; Eva, Rosie ‘25, Ava ‘26 and Maddy broke the record in the 4×400 relay; Kelly McFarland ‘25 broke the record in the Shot Put; Lorena Ortiz ‘26 broke the record in the Discus; and Elisabeth Halberstadt ‘27 broke the record in the Triple Jump.
The Team’s favorite race is the 4×400 relay because it’s our strongest team event, and it’s always the last event at the meets, so everyone can watch and cheer. This year, we had the unusual problem of having nine excellent 400m runners, making it very hard for the coaches to decide what the 4×400 line up would be week to week. At our second to last meet, a team of four seniors (Eva, Grace, Rosie and Maddy) destroyed the school record by five whole seconds, won first place by a long shot, and unexpectedly qualified for Nike Outdoor Nationals. The rest of the team was so excited we almost knocked over the timing system!
The excitement carried over into Championships on May 17th, exactly two months after our first practice. As the meet began, we were expected to place between third and fifth place out of the 38 other teams from around New England. The meet was long, but it was also exciting. We were happy to have it close by at Regis College, which allowed a lot of parents and teammates to come to support the team. By the end of the meet, we were sitting tied in second with only the 4×400 meter relayed left to be scored. We cheered and screamed for our 4×400 relay, who swept the field in first place earning us 10 points, and the glory of breaking a NEPSTA DIII Championship meet record in the 4×400. It was official! Montrose Track and Field had won first place at Championships. This was a dream come true for the team, and it was an absolute honor to be a part of it!
In conclusion, the Track and Field team had a very successful 2025 season ending with a big win. We are so incredibly grateful for all of the coaches who brought us through every finish line, and to our nine insanely talented seniors who really carried us all this year!!
