By Emerald Briggs
Back at the grass track, Newfound prepared for another workout on Monday. This time, Laplume had a descending ladder workout for us to tackle. After the warm-up, first we had two 800m repeats followed by four 400m repeats and finally, 4-7 200m repeats. On the penultimate 200m rep, we had to throw a hammer in there. In between every rep, we had 30 seconds of rest. According to LaPlume, all of our goal times were based on times we ran on Friday at Moonlight Madness.
Tuesday was an easy pre-meet shrine run with some LaPlume wars mixed in. This time, it was a race walk relay with boys vs girls. After having to pry information out of DudePlume, we found out that the only rule was that you had to be walking the entire time. Each team was allowed as many people as they wanted and they could split it up between whatever distances they wanted over one track lap. After a blistering start from Jack, the boys held the lead the entire time, winning at the end. I will say, the girls closed the gap over the last half of the race, but it just wasn’t enough.
Wednesday was the meet we have probably been least looking forward to, Hopkinton. Although it is a super pretty area with a great store on site, the team has an interesting backstory with the course. Back in 2022, it was the team’s first time attending this meet. Coach LaPlume had previously told the crew that it was looking like a super flat course because the overview course map looked flat (AKA a map on a phone screen). Everyone went into the race looking forward to this flat course but soon was met with uphill challenges throughout the whole thing. Now, every year, we tell the newcomers the legacy of this flat course.
For us, this race was looking like a “mini D3s preview” so we were hyped. In the girl’s race, some carnage occurred just after the two-mile mark and Emerald ended up not finishing due to pneumonia. Even missing a top scorer, the girls took over and pushed through with a strong showing. The girls came in 2nd place behind Hopkinton. Ceili finished 3rd and was awarded with a jar of honey from the local farm. Lots of packs were apparent with Addie and Charlotte not far apart. Captain Josie also had a strong race, being our 4th scorer. Sophie and Reece also finished right next to each other. In the boy’s race, Colin placed 3rd and also earned a honey jar. Jacoby had an awesome kick, passing athletes in the ending stretch of the hill to the finish line. Tucker and Loukas also ran good races, running together for at least the first half of the race.
Thursday was a half day where practice was not required, so a few of the girls made the trip to Walmart to purchase senior gifts for our upcoming meet. Whether at the optional practice or on our own, we were told to run 30-40 minutes and 4-6 strides. There was no school in session on Friday, so practice was not held. Coach’s told us to go easy and have a typical pre-meet run.
Bright and early on Saturday, the girls showed up (minus Captain Josie) to the track to set up for the senior meet. While decorating, tragedy struck due to the intense wind and Coach LaPlume heard trees cracking from loop 2 of our course. After investigating, he didn’t find any fallen trees but decided it was too risky to have athletes run it. After running it through with Newfound’s athletic director and the visiting coaches, they chose to change the course last minute. Instead of going loop 1, loop 2, loop 3, the racers now had to run it in the order of loop 3, Penguin Hill, loop 1, and loop 3 again. This meant everyone now had to face the wall two different times. Before the races took place, we had our senior recognition time. Sadly, this was the last home meet for three of our athletes: Captain Josie, Assistant to the Captain Tucker, and Lizzie. Shortly after receiving their baskets, posters, and flowers, all of the girls took to the starting line. Even though there was a course change and the girls were once again without a runner, they still destroyed (or denominated, as we say). Even after being told to tempo this race, there were 5 girls in the top 10. Ceili won in a time of 22:19. I got to see the packs working out throughout the race since I was just spectating right next to the Smith’s who nicely made the trip up north from Mascenic to cheer on the teams. I loved what I saw, first with the pack of Charlotte (5th) and Addie (6th) and then with Sophie (9th) and Josie (10th). The girls ended up winning with 31 points.
The boys had a great showing, winning their first race of the season with 30 points. Colin won with Brady finishing 2nd and Wyatt in 4th. Jack placed 9th and senior Tucker finished 15th as the boy’s 5th scorer, securing the win for the team. In the results, you can see a group of Lizzie and Loukas finishing just after Tucker, and then Matthew, Ben, and Sawyer finishing right after each other. Most importantly, Wyatt was back from vacation which meant it was time for him to buzz LaPlume’s hair. After the invited team’s left, we broke out the clippers and a chair and Wyatt got to work. This resulted in lots of hair left on the track and also flying everywhere because of the wind. Now, DudePlume is BaldPlume.
