Sports Highlights 10.24.16

 

 

 

Westminster had more than it could handle from a skilled, fast, and physical team from Avon Old Farms. Avon scored three goals in quick succession in the opening half as the Martlet defense struggled to clear the ball from deep in its own territory. The Beavers added one second half goal and, despite a few nice combinations that led to promising opportunities, the home team was unable to score.

 

 

 

 

 

Westminster played really well and all players got a chance to contribute. The team pushed hard for the duration of the game, winning 6-0. Scorers included: Madie Bologa ‘17, Lily Farriss ‘19, Maggie Kelly ‘18, Rosy Sieglaff ’18 and Kendall Brown ’17 had two.

Football-First Boys’

 

Westminster only had two opportunities this season to race on the home course, and the challenge was put forth to match the very strong 2004 team that had eight runners cross the line in under 20 minutes on this course at this time in the year. The weather did not cooperate; it was 46 degrees and raining hard at race time with a little wind. Emmett de Kanter ‘19 took off from the start, and by the half mile, he had no one within 100 yards of him. He won the race by well over a minute. A strong effort by the Avon Old Farm number one kept him just ahead of surging Elliott Kennard ‘19, who was followed by the Avon Old Farms captain and number two runner. After that, it was all Westminster, with the next five finishers wearing black. Teagan Stedman ‘18, Captain Jordan Gabbidon ‘17, Daniel Pinckney ‘20 and John Kuzminskas ‘18 all broke 20 minutes (Stedman, Pinckney, and Kuzminskas for the first time; John dropped 85 seconds off his run from three weeks back to do so). Justin Schuster ‘19 was one second off that barrier (20:01) and Matt Norris ‘19 was a few steps behind him (20:03). The team came close to matching the 2004 team on a day when the weather was costing them time.

In addition to facing the challenge of the weather, the Martlets had to race without top runner Oumou Kanoute ‘17 who was out with an injury. Regardless, the Martlets persevered and ran a fantastic race, dominating EWS and losing by a hair to Porter’s. A number of girls ran their best times ever on their home course. Mary McNally from Ethel Walker won the race and was followed by three Porter’s girls, which sealed the victory for the Fighting Daisies. Westminster, however, looked impressive taking the next five spots. Liz Casey ‘18 led the way finishing over 30 seconds faster than a couple of weeks ago. Caroline Percival ‘19 was fast on her heels and completed one of her best races of the season. She knocked an entire minute off of her finishing time from the previous home race. Sarah Minella ‘17 was the next to cross also achieving her best time on the course. The final two harriers in black and gold to complete this gang of five were Abby Hovey ‘18 and Bethany Winters ‘20. Maggie Chaves ‘19 also shaved time off of her fastest Westminster finish and Alexandra Lin ‘19 looked strong as well, completing the top seven for the Martlets. Other impressive performances came from Alayna Tawney ‘19 who destroyed her best time by a minute, and Sami Dording ‘19 and Martina Danieles ‘19 who completed their first race on their home course.

 

The Second Boys’ team has been working hard up and down the ladder, and that commitment has translated into a team with a depth that it has not had in over a decade. Despite the cold and wet conditions, the Martlets were undaunted and eager to post fast times on their last running on their home course. Matt Norris ‘19, led this pack by almost breaking 20 minutes on the course, a time that is a symbolic one for the team. Andrew Doucette ‘18, a three-year member of the team, posted his best time ever on the course by running 1:42 faster than he had at the RMI three weeks earlier. Alex Ellis ‘20 continues to improve, and Connor Seeley ‘18 was more than 70 seconds faster than his RMI run. Tim Harris ‘17 was the final scoring Second team runner, and he broke his lifetime best on his final run on this course. The big drop of the day belonged to Ryan Szykowny ‘18 (number six on Second team), who was over two minutes faster than he was just three weeks earlier. Other notable performances included Sean Ryan ‘18, returning for his first race of the season after recovering from major chest surgery this summer and almost breaking his lifetime best (the boy has heart!); Will Carlisle ‘19, James Chun ‘19 and Ethan Na ‘19 all ran over 90 seconds faster than they did at the RMI.