Mimi Narbonne runs the lead-off leg of the 4×400-yard relay. (Photo by Lexie Daniells)
The Bromfield girls indoor track team won its seventh consecutive District E Invitational last Saturday. Though winning the meet has become almost a tradition, this victory marked a turning point for the Trojan women. Bromfield runners can potentially compete on the team for six years, from the seventh grade until senior year, and last year, the remaining members of the first district championship team graduated. The Trojans entered 2008 with only one remaining component of the first Bromfield team to establish its winning streak: Coach Henry Phelan.
Though new runners are now scoring points for Bromfield, they proved last Saturday that with the help of Coach Phelan, Bromfield’s division C dominance will remain. Bromfield totaled a score of 91 points, well ahead of Lunenburg, which placed second, with 45.50 points. Blackstone-Millville placed third in the meet with 34 points.
Junior Katherine Finnegan broke her own meet record in the 300-meter dash, winning the event for the second year in a row with an unprecedented time of 43.78. Lexie Daniells placed third in the event, clocking a time of 45.30. Bromfield sprinters also scored points in the 55-meter dash, as Hillary Lewis placed second in the event with a time of 9.36.
Bromfield piled up the points in the 1,000-meter run. Lisa Reedich crossed the finish line first, clocking a time of 3:12.92. Freshman Mimi Narbonne followed 10 seconds later to come in third place.
“I felt good about my race, although I’m looking forward to the state meet where I can really achieve my goals,” said Reedich. “I’m hoping to break 3:05 in the 1,000.”
Liz Lee won the one-mile run for the second year in a row, crossing the finish line in 5:26.87. Kat Long also scored points in the event with a sixth-place finish. Like Lee, Bo Dunn also took her second district victory in the 600-meter run, winning the event with a time of 1:43.22. Maddie Darden placed fifth behind Dunn, finishing in 1:48.28.
The Trojans wrapped up the day with a series of relay successes. The Bromfield 4×220-yard relay team, made up of Lexie Daniells, Julia Alexander, Kim West, and Katherine Finnegan, took a solid second place behind Uxbridge with a time of 1:57.37.
The Bromfield 4×880-yard relay team came in a strong first place in 10:31.25, nearly 15 seconds faster than second-place Hudson. Freshman Emma Rothkopf ran a strong first leg for Bromfield. Sydney Durand took the baton next, establishing a lead before passing the baton off to Jennie Ives. In the final leg, Reedich came through again to anchor the relay in convincing fashion.
The 4×440-yard relay was perhaps the most exciting event of the day. Darden, Narbonne, West, and Dunn teamed up to take a close win over Blackstone-Millville. The race came down to the final stretch, as Dunn crossed the finish line in 4:32.4, less than a second ahead of Blackstone-Millville’s 4:32.55.
“I give a lot of credit to the other teams,” said West, who handed the baton off to Dunn. “They ran well and put up some good competition for us. It wasn’t easy. It was a close race, and definitely fast, but we still managed to place first.”
The Trojans are now looking toward the State Class Meet which will take place this Saturday, Feb. 16. They hope to continue their success and repeat last year’s state title win.
