MHS track teams making strides
Junior Caleigh Wilson qualified for states in the triple jump. Photo credit: Jackson Pfeiffer
Young Milford squad made noise at league meet
By Chris Villani
Sports Writer
The Milford track and field program is relatively young in most events this year, but it didn’t stop the Scarlet Hawks from having several athletes stand out during the recent Hockomock League meet.
Sophomore Claudia Solitro is a rising star for the Milford track team. Photo credit: Jackson Pfeiffer
Senior Joe Coplan took first place in the javelin, outpacing his number four seed to grab his first ever league championship. On the girls’ side, senior Evalysse Pierce took him second in the javelin with a heave of more than 115 feet.
Ben Parson, a junior, finished fourth in the 400 meter event at the league meet. Photo credit: Jackson Pfeiffer
Three more MHS athletes earned points in the competitive meet. Junior Ben Parson finished fourth in the 400-meter run. Senior Dani Atherton took him sixth place in the same event in the girls’ competition. And sophomore Andrew Fletcher earned a sixth place finish in the two-mile.
“That was the first time he had scored in a league championship, so it was a good day for him,” said coach Dan Gordon.
Junior Nick Simas crosses the finish line for the Scarlet Hawks. Photo credit: Jackson Pfeiffer
The girls’ team felt the loss this spring of senior Kiyanni Simas. Perhaps the most prolific track athlete in program history with multiple state titles to her credit, Simas sustained an injury that kept her sidelined for the season.
“We came within four points of winning two of our meets,” Gordon said. “That’s just one individual event win away from securing two wins, but without some of your best athletes, it's pretty difficult to make that happen.”
The guys’ team, Gordon said, is “extremely young, but we saw marked improvement from last year.”
One reason for the improvement is the added depth the MHS boys enjoyed this spring. In past seasons, Gordon said Milford had trouble filling out events, but that was not as big a problem this year.
The depth is driven by an influx of young talent, including a stellar sophomore class for both the boys and the girls.
“Some of our top sprinters are sophomores, most of our 4x400 team is composed of underclassmen and our entire 4x100 team is returning next year,” Gordon said. “We are loaded with underclassmen and now they have a lot of good racing experience, so we are looking forward to another offseason of continued development.”
The girls are graduating a strong senior class, which Gordon said is one of the best he has ever coached. But junior Caleigh Wilson qualified for states in the triple jump and is someone to watch next season. Jumper and hurdler Claudia Solitro and freshmen middle distance runner Tayla Seri could also be impact athletes next year, Gordon said.
