By Chris Villani

Sports Writer

Blackstone Valley Tech rising junior Haley Bilodeau has big dreams on both the track and in the orchestra, and so far she is making great strides in both.

Bilodeau just wrapped up a spring track and field season that saw her finish on the podium in three events — the 100 meter hurdles, 400 meter hurdles, and the javelin. 

“That really exceeded my expectations because the year before, I didn’t place,” Bilodeau said. “I thought I would just go out there and see how well I could do.”

She capped off the year with an 11th place finish in her first-ever appearance in the Meet of Champions in the low hurdles.

As if that were not enough, Bilodeau beat out thousands of violinists in an audition to earn a spot with the New England Conservatory Prep Symphony Orchestra and will be performing in Greece next year.

“I started playing the violin when I was really young,” Bilodeau said. “I played sports when I was a kid and my parents thought I was really active, so they asked me if I wanted to play the piano or the violin. I kind of took to it naturally and now I play it every day for an hour.”

Bilodeau has shown a knack for sports as well. She was among the top point scorers for Valley Tech this spring and frequently earned wins in the high hurdles and the javelin. 

Head coach Chelsea Swan asked her to give the low hurdles a shot and, in her first time running, she was just two seconds off the school record. Bilodeau later broke the record, and that was the event that earned her a spot in the final meet of the spring at Fitchburg State.

“It was really fun,” Bilodeau said of the statewide meet. “It was a great environment. I have always wanted to go really far in track and go to a D1 college, so getting that far in only my second year of high school track was amazing to me.”

Bilodeau has not started the college search process yet, though Boston’s Northeastern University has caught her eye given its proximity to her orchestra. In addition to competing in track and field at the highest level, the Douglas resident said she wants to play for the Boston Symphony Orchestra someday. In the meantime, she is going to continue to train in both of her passions.

“I work up more of a sweat in track than violin,” she said, “but sometimes my arm does get pretty tired.”