The Girl’s Outdoor Track and Field team found much success during their season in the 2012-2013. The girls finished the year winning the NVL title. Winning this title helped to create bonds and memories between teammates that will never be forgotten.
While the track team of 2012-2013 became closer than usual and shared bonds never seen before, unfortunately for most teams what happens is that key athletes graduate. Often times this leaves the team struggling to rebuild strength for the following year. Although the loss of these athletes is common, it is not the case for the 2014 Woodland Regional Girls’ Track and Field team.
Right from the beginning the Girls’ Cross Country team had one of their most successful seasons yet with an undefeated record. This record helped lead them to eventually defeating the whole NVL. To receive all-NVL in cross country, the rules are a little different. Each team is allowed their top seven runners to make the varsity race on the day of NVLs, and the rest of the team runs the junior varsity race. With fourteen NVL teams, there are usually around 80-90 runners, and in the junior varsity around 60. The top eight runners in varsity make all-NVL. Three out of the eight runners this past season were Hawks, meaning they had the most runners from any one school to receive this award. Runners who made all-NVL that meet were senior, Mary Sardinskas, who defended her title for the third year in a row, junior, Stephanie Kiley, two time all-NVL who won her last title her freshman year, and sophomore, Clara Drozdowski, who made her first appearance in the all-NVL lineup. In order to win the meet, one team must have the lowest score of all. The team went 15-0.
Following the Cross Country season came the Indoor Track season. Runners on that team proved to be stronger than ever and blew everyone away with their crushing victory against all other NVL schools this January. The team came out on top, winning with 175 points. The team that finished second was the Seymour Wildcats, finishing down at 83.5 points. The Hawk’s girls won nine out of fifteen events that evening, which shocked everyone in the league, including Coach Jeff Lownds. Key runners for the Hawks that night were junior Jazmyn Menzies, winning high jump, long jump, the 4x400m relay, and the 4x200m relay. Megan Lynch, also a junior, won her pole vault event, defending her title from her last year’s win as well. Senior, Ashley Mitchie won the 300m sprint, along with the 55m sprint. All the relays in the meet, which include the 4x400m, the 4x800m, the 4x200m, and the SMR (sprint medley relay), belonged to the Woodland girls as well. Relay teams are made up of four girls per team, proving that Woodland had an all-around strong team.
With all this success, the NVL is just waiting to see what will happen this year in the outdoor season for the Hawks. Usual rivals against the team include Watertown and Naugatuck, the only teams that have previously stolen the title of champions. The season will begin at the end of March, and usually the championship meet takes place during the middle of May. Distance runners from cross country will combine with the sprinters, jumpers, and throwers from the indoor meet to help create a coach’s dream team.