Girls Find Footing at State Tournament

The girls 4x800-meter relay kicked off the State Track & Field Championships. After a long season with the goal in mind of repeating their 2018 Indoor and Outdoor distance relay titles, Claire Boehm '20 led off and from the gun dominated the field running away and handing off to Liza Gregory '21 with a sizable lead.

Newcomer Gregory competed like a veteran at the state tournament. With a 2:35 to her resume so far this season, she has been adjusting to speed training and racing tactics. Gregory saved her best for last, running a 2:27 800-meter split to keep the lead out of reach for the competing teams. Regan Simmons '21, the stalwart of reliability for the Maroon squad, moved up from her 4x200-m and 4x400-m relay spots to get the stick around in a more than respectable manner to add to her State Title resume. Alli Boehm '20 reaped the benefits of her teammates' hard work and ran comfortably around the track to break the line five whole seconds ahead of the closest team.

The girls 4x200-m relay team, led by some expertly executed handoffs and season-best time, placed runners-up. On the baton carry was Simmons, Nina Moore '20, Jahsaiah Moses '19, and Janil Cohen '21.

Moore very cooly won her heat in the short sprint and ran another composed race to finish as the runner up and All-State Second Team honors.

The final display of determination and grit was the 4x400-meter relay event, where most student athletes donned the Maroon & Black jersey for the second or even third event of the day. The girls were up first and did not disappoint. After coming back from injury in 2018 to race only in the 4x800-meter event, Alli Boehm matched up against the winningest student-athlete in state history and held her own, pushing the pace and racing to All-State Runner Up in the 1000-meter race. Distance specialist Claire Boehm, after competing in the 4x800-meter event and a grueling 1600-meter event, led off the team and put them in scoring position. After a dominant display from eventual state champs St. Catherine’s School, Simmons and Alli Boehm fought hard for every inch of the track. Future Haverford College track star Moses matched her all-time best to bring home All-State Runner Up honors.