The Amherst outdoor track and field teams are gearing up for another season on the oval and have loads of talented athletes across the boys and girls teams.

Last season, the boys snagged a top-10 finish at the MIAA Division 4 championships with a seventh-place spot while numerous girls relay teams qualified for Nike Nationals in Eugene, Oregon. Multiple athletes who made an impact last spring return to the Hurricanes this year.

The boys will be lead by Logan Alfandari (throws), Nico Lisle (800 meters), Owen Platt (400 meters) and Moniha Krouch (throws). Alfandari won the discus throw and placed second in the shot put at last year’s Div. 4 championship while Platt and Lisle were members of Amherst’s 4x800 relay team that took first. Krouch also earned second place in the discus, behind Alfandari.

Head coach David Thompson also hopes sprinters Miles Jeffries and Rajahni Conyers can step up for the ‘Canes in the shorter distance events.

The girls squad’s Swiss army knife in Elizabeth Sawicki returns, and she will rack up points all over the track for Amherst in 2025. Sawicki secured a top-10 finish in all five of the pentathlon events at last year’s Div. 4 meet, plus took fifth in the pole vault. Sawicki will also specialize in the 400-meter hurdles for the Hurricanes this season.

Ruby Austin brings back some big meet experience as the sprinter/mid-distance athlete competed in the 100 meters and 200 meters at the Div. 4 meet.

Austin, Moriah Luetjen, Ella Austin and Ololara Baptiste were four of the six runners who competed at Nike Nationals last year that return for Amherst. The Hurricanes won the sprint medley at Nationals in the Emerging Elite division in 4:12.23.

Luetjen is also the defending state 400-meter champion and state runner-up in the 200 meters, highlighting Amherst’s impressive depth in the shorter distance events.

Head coach Chris Gould kicks off his 30th season at the helm and kept his goals for this ‘Canes bunch concise.

“Cultivate the energy and talent to produce a team that can compete [at] a high level [and] enter the postseason healthy and poised to compete at the highest level,” Gould said

Other athletes Gould mentioned to look out for were Skylar Fox (mid-distance), Maddie Hockman (sprints), Brooke Nedeau (distance), Genevieve Dole (distance and high jump), Marit MacDonald (distance), Claire Fortin (sprints, long jump, high jump), Lilly Pope (distance), Sanaa Johnson (javelin, shot and discus), Yairelis Bachand (shot and discus), Mariam Ben Nekhi (javelin).

Area lookaround

Northampton: The girls team will look to take another step forward this season after earning 10th at the Div. 4 meet in 2024. Its junior class of Camilla Brewer (sprints, long jump, triple jump), Ally Mourad (pentathlon) and Maeve O’Neil (distance) will be important to the overall success of the Blue Devils.

The boys team’s distance runners will power its success as Theodore King-Pollet (two mile) and Jack Kamins (800 meters, mile) each return after racing to top-15 finishes at the Div. 4 championships.

Holyoke: Head coach Finn Lubold has an underclassmen-heavy roster at his disposal as he begins his first year with the Purple Knights boys team. More than half of its 27 athletes are sophomores are younger, however seniors Jayderson Lugo (sprinter) and Jaden Diaz (throws), plus junior Ryan Kennedy (sprinter/hurdles) will be Holyoke’s top athletes to watch.

The girls 4x100 relay team also traveled to Oregon for the Nike Nationals and placed 18th in the Championship division. Three of the four Purple Knights runners return in Yasani Thompson, Kayshaly Garcia and Kyra Lippman, and will be looking to defend its Western Mass. title.

South Hadley: The Tigers’ girls team’s youth movement got another year of experience following its 24th-place finish at last spring’s Div. 6 meet. Maggie Crawford, Izzy Scott, Mikayla Weaver, Emma Archambault, Ally Fleury all came back for South Hadley, while seventh-grader Grace Cooney has the opportunity to make her mark right away. Head coach Danielle Clark will look to keep the wins coming as the Tigers went 5-0 in Clark’s first season in charge.

Matt Gillis (high jump) and Jameson Webber (hurdles) make up South Hadley’s most experienced athletes on the boys team. 

Easthampton: The Eagles have an abundance of athletes in its program this spring, which should help yield some consistent results. First for Ryan Hanna’s (second season) boys team, Nelson Gomez is the only returner who competed at the Div. 6 meet last year, taking eighth in the triple jump. Jack Skowron (long jump, javelin), Will Jourdain (two mile), Jack Donoghue (800, mile, two mile) are other athletes to watch.

The girls have a reliable group of upperclassmen in Addie Barr (mile, two mile), Grace Pappadellis (mile and two mile) Morgan Wijnhoven (long jump, sprints), Leia Halfacre (throws). Head coach Lisa Ritchie (fifth season) also expects to see contributions from youngsters Arie Kuchyt (long jump), Camilla Corsello (high jump, triple jump), Gwen Banz (200, 400, 800, mile) and Sophia Belfakih (800).

Both teams took third place in the the Surburban League last season.

Frontier: For the Redhawk boys, Evan Hedlund took eighth in the 800 meters and fifth at the mile at the MIAA Div. 6 state meet last spring while Ben Cachiguango placed fifth in the 110 hurdles at states. Charles Dennis (distance), Julian Adams (throws), Garrett Dredge (jumps), Luke Howard (distance), Ian Paciorek (sprints), Adrien Pazmandy (pole vault and sprints), John Reloj (throws) and Ezra Rich (throws) are just some of the athletes Frontier boys coach Walt Flynn said to keep an eye on this spring, showcasing the depth the Redhawks have and why they are so tough to beat in meets.

For the Frontier girls, Madelyn Antes (400 hurdles), Hannah Davis (100 hurdles, triple jump), Josie Fosnot (400), Addie Morrey (800), Mara Arium (800), Sylvie DiBartolomeo (2 mile), Lilly Novak (discus, shot and javelin), Maia Christensen (high jump), Mary Burt (high jump) and Elsa Brown (pole vault) each made D6 states last year and are returning this year.

Belchertown: The Orioles girls team will look to replace Div. 5 meet qualifiers in Cameron Ting, Cheri Williams and Kami Wlodyka—who all graduated – from last season’s squad. Benjamin Les (two mile) will pace the boys team as its best distance runner.

Hampshire: The Raiders lost a few key seniors, but bring back a bunch of talent across both teams this spring. The boys get Owen Cubi (hurdles) and Oscar Schiff (distance) back while the girls have Kathleen Barry (distance) and Tessa Burke (pole vault) to round out its top performers.