Indoor track: Amherst, Frontier compete in late session at PVIAC Meet No. 1

Published: 12-12-2024 11:24 PM |
NORTHAMPTON – The Amherst and Frontier indoor track teams competed in their first meet of the PVIAC season on Thursday at Smith College, closing out the opening event with the night session.
The Amherst boys came up short in points to Agawam and Springfield Central, but beat Chicopee Comp.
Amherst juniors Nicolas Lisle and Owen Platt finished first and second in the boys 600-meter race, with times of 1 minute, 25.58 seconds and 1:25.74, while senior Logan Alfandari easily got past the competition in the boys shot put with a distance of 51 feet, 0.25 inches.
“I think they’re going to push each other back and forth,” Hurricanes head coach David Thompson said on Lisle and Platt. “It’s just one of those things where they all train together and they all just keep going and they’re going to feed off each other.”
Junior Elias Katsaros also won the boys 1,000 meter for Amherst in 2:59.17. The Hurricanes’ final victory on the boys side came in the 4x400 meter relay, with a winning time of 3:40.02.
The Amherst girls went undefeated in their three matchups as victories in five of the 11 scored events overall paced the Hurricanes.
Sophomore Ololara Baptiste took first in the 55 meters (7.44), freshman Genevieve Dole won the 1,000 meters (3:40.01), senior Brooke Nedeau was the first finisher in the two-mile race (13:35.29), freshman Claire Fortin won the long jump (15 feet, 10.75 inches), and the 4x400 meter relay team claimed victory in 4:31.62.
“Just trying to get them the first meet, come out and compete and leave it out there,” Thompson said. “We got a lot of young talent that’s going to be good so if we get more practice, it’ll start to show.
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“We’re really strong in throwers for our boys,” Thompson added. “Everybody’s coming back from throwing. We did pick up a new high-jumper for boys and for girls, we just found three new high-jumpers, all underclassmen so we’re doing good.”
The Frontier boys beat both Pope Francis and Commerce on Thursday. Seniors Ben Cachiguango (55 meter hurdles) and Oliver Brown (high jump) took home individual wins as Cachiguango beat the field with a time of 8.09 seconds while Brown bested the rest with a height of 5-8.
“Cachiguango is a really good athlete,” Frontier boys coach Walt Flynn said. “I think we’ll be in the mix to win the league.”
Flynn also noted junior distance runner Luke Howard will be a name to watch when he returns from injury.
The Redhawk girls also earned two wins, with senior Lilly Novak counting as the team’s lone first-place result in the shot put. Novak’s throw measured in at 30 feet, 1.25 inches.
Frontier picked up second place in the 55 meter hurdles, 600 meter race, 4x400 meter relay and the high jump.
“My expectations are I hope we get some of the wrinkles out,” Redhawks girls coach Bob Smith said. “I think they’re doing a great job tonight.
“Perla Ordaz just ran the 600 for the first or second time for me and she did a great job tonight, came in second overall, I’m really happy with her,” he added. “I’m also happy with Hannah Davis in the hurdles, she does a great job. Maia Christensen, a freshman, went almost five feet, which would be a [personal record] for her tonight in high jump.”
The next PVIAC meet will be Sunday, Dec. 22 at Smith College. The meet is scheduled to start at 1:30 p.m.