NORTHAMPTON — At this point in the indoor track season, teams are getting creative in how they gear up for the postseason.
Friday night’s PVIAC meet at Smith College was the sixth of seven meets this season and served as one of the last opportunities for athletes to make a push for postseason qualifications or adjust their training to best prepare them for the upcoming meets.
The South Hadley boys and girls teams both have had great success this season. The Tigers improved their record on both sides to 12-0 with sweeps of Mahar, Mohawk and Pioneer Regional.
“Especially on the girls side, I won’t say we’re comfortable, but we know what we have,” South Hadley girls coach Nick Davis said. “At this point we’ve seen what everyone else seems to have. There’s always a couple of surprises down the road, but I think we’re going to end up doing well.”
The South Hadley boys and girls combined for 10 overall first-place finishes in the early session.
Farrell Dawson, who won the girls 600-meter run, and Jocelyne Rondeau, who was first in the girls 1,000, both identified Friday’s meet as a step toward their postseason goals.
“We didn’t get exactly the times that we wanted or the places we wanted in some events,” Dawson said. “Overall, I think we all worked hard and came out where we relatively wanted to.”
Given the season success and times that South Hadley has put up, the Tigers are heading into the postseason with high expectations.
“I think today is a good predictor of how we’re going to perform during the postseason and I think we’re on the right track to have some success there,” Rondeau said. “I know it’s ambitious but I think our team is a really top competitor for first place.”
The South Hadley girls had five first-place finishers: Emma Rahilly (55 hurdles, 9.5), Farrell Dawson (600, 1:45.63), Jocelyne Rondeau (1,000, 3:08.07), Lindsay Marjanski (high jump, 5-2) and Savannah Sudyka (shot put, 35-7).
The South Hadley boys also had five firsts: Jonas Clarke (55, 6.7), Ryan Levrault (shot put, 38-9), Bradyn Cote (mile, 4:51.09), Luke Petrosky (600, 1:30.04), and the 4×400 relay (3:43.85).
Northampton finished with four firsts: Tim Jacques (2-mile, 10:30.66), Julian Clark (high jump, 5-6), Emma Harder (55-meter dash, 7.64), and the girls 4×400 relay (4:21.06).
Amherst had two firsts: Devin Dixon (55 hurdles, 8.23) and Patrik Cooper (1,000, 2:56).
One of the most exciting events of the night was the girls 4×400 relay where Northampton overtook South Hadley late and won by 0.3 seconds.
“We just went in not really expecting anything at all because we are not the usual team that runs it,” Maggie Reade said. “We ended up winning, which was kind of a surprise for everyone, so we were very excited about that.”
Northampton was one of the schools that has additional meets this weekend. The Blue Devils adjusted their lineup for Friday’s meet, leading to some athletes participating in races that they may not usually compete in.
“Anybody that is racing on Sunday actually did a lesser distance race,” Northampton girls coach Linda Rowbotham said. “In those races you saw them working on their speed and that’s going to be extremely important for the postseason.”
Northampton and Amherst Regional will each field a sprint medley relay team in the New Balance Grand Prix on Saturday. On Sunday, Northampton and Amherst will participate in the Massachusetts State Track Coaches Association Boys and Girls Small Schools Coaches Invitational.
Both events will be held at the Reggie Lewis Center in Boston. The sprint medley relay is scheduled to start at 4:39 p.m.
The Coaches Invitational will give western Mass. athletes a chance to put together strong performances as they gear toward the PVIAC Championships.