There were some INTERESTING characters on that team...
East Longmeadow enters the 2013-2014 girls indoor track season as the favorite, but a number of programs will be looking to knock the Spartans down a notch. (Republican file photo by Dave Roback)
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on December 09, 2013 6 p.m.
on December 09, 2013 6 p.m.
The East Longmeadow girls indoor track team heads into the upcoming season hoping to defend its three consecutive Western Mass. titles. Many of the athletes who brought the Spartans that title last winter return are returning this year, so it would make sense if the a fourth consecutive PVIAC championship was at the top of the list of goals for the Spartans.
But that’s not how coach East Longmeadow Michael Budd sees things.
“We don’t set a goal to win the Western Mass. championship. We never have. We’ve always said our goal is for the athlete, individually, to attain their objective,” Budd said.
“We try to set our goals and standards on performances. If everybody performs, all the wins, losses, everything else will take care of itself. I’m not worried about those things,” he continued.
The philosophy makes sense. The standard to win an event at the Western Mass. championships one year may not be the same the following season. But what the Spartans can control is their own improvement through the course of the season, so when the final stretch comes, they can be prepared.
This season, East Longmeadow’s returners include a number of athletes who improved over the course of the year to put together strong performances at the end of the season.
Senior Gabby Weithofer’s season-best long jump of 16 feet, 11.5 inches was good enough to win the Western Mass. long jump championship, and fellow senior Rebecca Varney ran her best 55m hurdle in the Division III state finals, when her time of 8.96 placed her third.
Meanwhile, junior Paige Suse won last year’s Division III state high jump when she cleared five feet, two inches on her first attempt.
Although the East Longmeadow will come in as the favorite in Western Mass., there are a number of strong programs in the area that will hope to end the Spartans’ run of PVIAC titles. One of those teams is Northampton, which won the 2009 and 2010 Western Mass. championships before East Longmeadow started its run.
Like the Spartans, the Blue Devils feature an extremely talented junior class. Super 7 selection Alex Dibrindisi is a talented long-jumper and mid-distance runner, as is her junior classmate Sophie Sharp. Coming off a successful cross-country season, junior Mariel Lutz will likely be among the top Western Mass. athletes in the 1000-meter and the mile.
Northampton has finished as the runner-up for each of East Longmeadow’s three straight Western Mass. titles, and coach Brandon Palmer said those second-place finishes will give his athletes some extra motivation this season.
“I think it was a little bit of a bitter taste in their mouth that the girls team had from last year. I think a couple of them are a little hungry to get out there, raise a trophy and take it on a nice little spin around the track,” Palmer said.
“I kind of look at East Longmeadow as the Muhammad Ali and we’re like the Joe Frazier,” he joked. “So I think we’re a little bit of an underdog, but once we get in the ring, that’s when the gloves are off.”
Despite the disappointment of Northampton’s three straight runner-up finishes, Palmer praised Budd’s work to build indoor track not just at one school but throughout the entirety of Western Mass. According to Budd, that camaraderie among the athletes and coaches in Western Mass. isn’t seen in many other sports.
“We always watch out for one another. It’s not a competitive thing. Yes, we want to beat each other but it’s more that we applaud good performances. I don’t care what school you go to,” Budd said.
“It’s a uniqueness about our sport. Yes, you want to prevail but you also want to see outstanding performances.”
But that’s not how coach East Longmeadow Michael Budd sees things.
“We don’t set a goal to win the Western Mass. championship. We never have. We’ve always said our goal is for the athlete, individually, to attain their objective,” Budd said.
“We try to set our goals and standards on performances. If everybody performs, all the wins, losses, everything else will take care of itself. I’m not worried about those things,” he continued.
The philosophy makes sense. The standard to win an event at the Western Mass. championships one year may not be the same the following season. But what the Spartans can control is their own improvement through the course of the season, so when the final stretch comes, they can be prepared.
This season, East Longmeadow’s returners include a number of athletes who improved over the course of the year to put together strong performances at the end of the season.
Senior Gabby Weithofer’s season-best long jump of 16 feet, 11.5 inches was good enough to win the Western Mass. long jump championship, and fellow senior Rebecca Varney ran her best 55m hurdle in the Division III state finals, when her time of 8.96 placed her third.
Meanwhile, junior Paige Suse won last year’s Division III state high jump when she cleared five feet, two inches on her first attempt.
Although the East Longmeadow will come in as the favorite in Western Mass., there are a number of strong programs in the area that will hope to end the Spartans’ run of PVIAC titles. One of those teams is Northampton, which won the 2009 and 2010 Western Mass. championships before East Longmeadow started its run.
Like the Spartans, the Blue Devils feature an extremely talented junior class. Super 7 selection Alex Dibrindisi is a talented long-jumper and mid-distance runner, as is her junior classmate Sophie Sharp. Coming off a successful cross-country season, junior Mariel Lutz will likely be among the top Western Mass. athletes in the 1000-meter and the mile.
Northampton has finished as the runner-up for each of East Longmeadow’s three straight Western Mass. titles, and coach Brandon Palmer said those second-place finishes will give his athletes some extra motivation this season.
“I think it was a little bit of a bitter taste in their mouth that the girls team had from last year. I think a couple of them are a little hungry to get out there, raise a trophy and take it on a nice little spin around the track,” Palmer said.
“I kind of look at East Longmeadow as the Muhammad Ali and we’re like the Joe Frazier,” he joked. “So I think we’re a little bit of an underdog, but once we get in the ring, that’s when the gloves are off.”
Despite the disappointment of Northampton’s three straight runner-up finishes, Palmer praised Budd’s work to build indoor track not just at one school but throughout the entirety of Western Mass. According to Budd, that camaraderie among the athletes and coaches in Western Mass. isn’t seen in many other sports.
“We always watch out for one another. It’s not a competitive thing. Yes, we want to beat each other but it’s more that we applaud good performances. I don’t care what school you go to,” Budd said.
“It’s a uniqueness about our sport. Yes, you want to prevail but you also want to see outstanding performances.”
