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Winning Form
Maddie Grube shows off her winning form in the triple jump April 24. The Centaurs senior also finished first in the long jump, the 100-meter hurdles and was a member of the winning 4 x 100-meter relay team vs. Norwich Free Academy. Photo by Marc Allard.


Norwich Free Academy made its impression as soon as it drove up to the track at the South Campus at Woodstock Academy April 24.
It took two buses to carry the nearly 70 athletes that the Wildcats brought along.
The Centaurs had just about a third of that.
But the small-ish Woodstock Academy group acquitted itself well, forging a host of first-place finishes, but falling short as expected to NFA, 97-53.
“It was great for us to steal nearly half the points and stay in the game with them,” said Woodstock Academy girls’ track coach Josh Welch. “I think it shows what our athletes are capable of doing and their commitment. We talked a little at the beginning of the meet about staying focused, despite the competition, and using it to their advantage rather than a deterrent. I think everybody did that. We had a lot of (personal records). Their attitude was in the right place and they pushed hard.”
None harder than Woodstock Academy senior Maddie Grube.
She captured first-place finishes in the long jump (14-8 ½); triple jump (31-7), 100-meter hurdles (18.79) and was also a member of the winning 4x100-meter relay team for the Centaurs.
“(NFA’s numbers) make it tough. They’re putting like 10 girls in every event and we only have a few so it makes it tough getting points. Our focus this meet was getting personal records and trying to qualify for states,” Grube said.
Grube qualified for Class M state competition in both the 4x100 and bettered her qualifying position in the long jump. Grube also got very close to qualifying for state competition in the triple jump.
After the Ledyard Relays this weekend, the Centaurs only have the Middletown Invitational, a meet with E. Lyme and the ECC championship meet left.
Junior international student Marina Monrabal was a member alongside Grube, Aochen Li and Gillian Price as members of the 4 x 100 team that not only finished with a win against NFA but also qualified for state competition. Monrabal also finished first and qualified for states in the 100-meter. The Centaurs also finished first in the 4 x 400 relay.
Olivia Majek took the baton in the third leg of the 4x400 and was behind by 50 meters. She made up the time and freshman Linsey Arends did the rest, striding home in first. Arends also won the 1,600-meter event.
Boys Fall in Norwich
Kenneth Birlin scored a first-place finish for the Centaurs who fell to Norwich Free Academy, 125-25, in Norwich April 24.
“They actually sat a bunch of their kids because of missed practices and things like that. It was wonderful meet, but they are just loaded,” said Woodstock Academy coach Pete Lusa.
Birlin took first in the 800-meter with a personal best 2:06.4. 
“It was a good win for him because in our first meet at Fitch, he kind of went out and ran all on his own. This time, he was challenged until about three-quarters of the way through and he pulled ahead. I’m looking forward to him running at Middletown where he will be a slow seed and he will have people running faster than him and will, hopefully, push him beyond the time he wants to get,” Lusa said.
Lucas Couture qualified for the states with a second in the pole vault (10-feet-6), was second in the 110-meter hurdles and was a member of the winning 4x400 team.
His time in the hurdles was a tenth off of qualifying for States.
“That was into the wind,” Lusa said. “He was pretty pleased (with the hurdles) and he went over 10-6 pretty smoothly (in the pole vault).”
Adam Schimmelpfennig was second in the 300 hurdles and Ethan Aspiras was 2nd in the 3200m for the Centaurs (0-2, 0-2 ECC Div. I). Jackson Dias added third-place finishes in the high jump and 300-meter hurdles. The big goal for the Centaurs now is to get athletes qualified for state competition.
Ledyard Relays
It was a long, cold day in Ledyard April 27.
The Ledyard Relays, normally a two-day event, was condensed to one due to inclement weather April 26. Couture bettered his performance at Norwich in the pole vault, getting a personal best when he cleared the bar at 11-feet. The 4 x 800-meter team of Birlin, Dias, Benjamin Green and Jeremy Romano finished fourth.
On the girls’ side, the 4 x 1-mile relay team of Arends, Megan Gohn, Alexia Bourbeau and Iris Bazinet finished second in 25 minute, 26.7 seconds. The 4 x 100-meter hurdle relay team of Grube, Aria Gianfriddo, Aochen Li and Sydney Couture placed third and the 4 x800 relay quartet of Malloy Tyimok, Anna Kellerman, Sophia Mawson and Bazinet was fifth. Grube also placed fifth in the long jump.
Marc Allard
Sports Information Director
The Woodstock Academy

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