The Bromfield track team was represented by juniors Tessa McClain and Samantha Schoenberg as well as sophomore Claire Stoddard at the All-State meet Feb. 23. The threesome scored 6½ points, earned a 28th-place team finish, and sent two of their number to the New England championships.
McClain was the first of the three to compete, running the 1,000 meters. “At the start of [the race], Tessa ran into some traffic and had to fight her way to the front,” reflected Coach Greg Bourque. “She ran each of her first four laps as she planned, hitting her splits. She came to the 800-meter mark right around 2:20 minutes and leading the pack. In the final lap, two of the strongest runners in the state took off … she finished fourth, still a huge accomplishment.” That finish put Bromfield on the board with 5 team points.
Next up was Stoddard in the long jump. Bourque wrote in an email to the Press, “Claire was consistent in her approach and had three good jumps. Her first jump of 16 feet 10½ inches turned out to be her best, but a low jump of 16-5 … is a promising sign for what’s to come outdoors.” The distance of 16-10½ placed her 13th and just 8 inches behind eighth place.
Finally, Schoenberg competed in both the 300-meter run and the high jump. According to Bourque, “Sam had very good jumps at 5 [feet] and 5-2…before jumping [5-4] she had to run the 300 meters. She ran a good race [finishing with] her second fastest time in the event. Unfortunately, when she came back from running, she missed her first attempt at 5-4. She would clear 5-4 on her second attempt before missing 5-6 by the smallest of margins on all three jumps.” Her time of 41.81 seconds in the 300m earned her a 13th-place finish, while her mark of 5-4 tied her for seventh place and scored 1½ points for the team.
McClain and Schoenberg have advanced to the New England championships, which will be held Saturday, March 2, at the Reggie Lewis Center in Boston. The indoor season will conclude when the sprint medley relay team of McClain, Schoenberg, Stoddard, and junior Liza Toll competes at Nationals March 9 at the Armory in New York City.
Ellis Toll is a Bromfield teacher and coach.
