No program has won indoor track championships quite like the Amherst Regional boys team.
Since indoor track started in western Massachusetts in 2000, the Hurricanes have won the most titles – nine. They won the first four and the last five.
Northampton (2008-11) has four, Minnechaug (2006-07) two and Westfield one (2005).
Amherst has won going away and in the final event. It has won as the favorite and as the underdog.
Last year, Amherst went 6-6 during the regular season yet beat Northampton by five (77-72) at the PVIAC meet. Minnechaug was a distant third with 49 points.
Considering who the Hurricanes lost to graduation following the 2015 title, it was likely teams overlooked Amherst last season.
“It comes down to everyone thinking that we lost a lot of people, especially if you lose a group like Taj(-Amir Torres) and Kelzy (Rodrigues),” Amherst coach David Thompson said. “They don’t think you have a lot left. I think we had enough guys between distance, our field events, sprinters, to be able to put together enough points to come away with a victory.”
It would by silly to count out the Hurricanes. They have a formula and history on their side.
“Every school might not be strong in every event, but they got one or two guys strong in certain events, so they take points away from other teams, which allows you to nickel and dime to be able to make it close,” Thompson said. “And we like to pride ourselves on our relays. If it comes down to the relays, we feel like out of the three relays, we have a strong chance at winning all three or coming in the top three in all of them.”
Amherst should have more depth this season than last year. Jack Yanko, Aidan Foucault Etheridge, Aidan Shea, Leif Stevens Julian Fischer Frank lead a solid distance squad from the 1,000-meter run and up.
Andre Shepard is a veteran sprinter.
“You got a lot of guys who are excited for their events and excited for what they can do,” Thompson said. “As we come together as a team, we’re definitely excited to try and put together a sixth Western Mass. championship. But at the end of the day, our biggest goal is to get as many guys as possible qualified for Western Mass. The more guys we have qualified, the more chances we have at gaining points.”
The Hurricanes need to figure out who will get them points in the field events. The graduation of Jericho Sylla and Adawehi Robinson took away the reigning champion in the long jump and shot put, respectively.
“We have a group of kids who we are going to try and see how we can get them going in the field events and see if they can help us in the long run,” Thompson said. “It’s hard losing a Jericho and an Adawehi. You knew you were going to get 10 points from them.”
The Hurricanes have been in this position before – losing top-end athletes to graduation only to restock and continue the winning tradition. When Feb. 10 rolls around, the team expects to be ready to take on the competition at Smith College. There is a process to get to that point in the season, the athletes just need to buy in.
“It’s like Novocain, give it time and it works,” Thompson said. “You keep it the same and we keep pushing it. Our biggest motto is ‘we work harder than you.’ That’s why we have guys and girls whose first question is ‘We going outside to run? It’s cold out.’ Yeah, we going outside. When certain people aren’t outside running in the cold, were running in the cold. We push our athletes to the limit and beyond. Because when it comes down to it at Western Mass. you’re going to need guys to be able to do more.”
TIGHT PACK – The girls championship figures to be a battle again this season.
Last year, eight points separated the top four teams – East Longmeadow (59 points), Northampton (55), Westfield (51) and South Hadley (51). Central was fifth, 13 points behind.
While each team graduated some top performers, each bring back depth and experience. Relays should be strong for all.
QUALIFYING – There is a new qualifying procedure for MIAA postseason meets. Athletes that meet the listed standard will qualify automatically. If a field is not filled, the meet director will fill it with the next best athletes listed on directathletics.com. If the number of automatic qualifiers is larger than the field, all will be accepted. For track events, the field size is 32. For field events, it’s 24.