WMass Track & Field: Mount Greylock girls win D-II title, Mackenzie Loudon among medal leaders

WILLIAMSTOWN ― The Mounties ran away with the Western Mass. title on Saturday, bringing back their championship crown.

Mount Greylock girls track & field team won the WMass Division II track & field championships at Mount Greylock High School, scoring 169.5 points as a team.

First-place medalists Katherine Goss (triple jump and 100m hurdles), Brenna Lopez (two mile) and Nora Lopez (javelin) played a crucial role in the Mounties’ victory.

“It means a lot because it’s the first year we’ve (actually) had a track,” Goss said. “Having (this meet at) home, we wanted to defend our home turf and it’s my last year that I could — our girls team has won Western Mass. the entire time I’ve been here, I wanted to remain undefeated.

“It also means a lot because we’d lost a lot of girls last year, so we didn’t know how strong we would be coming in, coming off a state title. We wanted to get as far as we could and have a good Western Mass… we all competed well and competed for each other today.”

The Mounties collected 27 individual medals and earned three team relay medals, including a first-place finish in the 4x800m relay and five individual multi-medalists, including Coralea Lash-St. John, Rowan Apotsos and the aforementioned Goss, Brenna and Nora Lopez.

For the full list of results, click here.

“We really never talk about ‘defending’ any (title) because it’s a different team,” Mount Greylock girls track & field coach Brian Gill said. “We graduated 33 seniors last year (between the girls and boys), so for them, it’s all new. This is their team, it’s their title… but it’s super cool to win on our new track.”

The Mount Greylock boys team also won the Western Mass. title. To read more, click here.

Frontier placed second as a team with 67 points, earning 12 individual medals and two team relay medals, including a first-place finish in the 4x400m relay.

The Red Hawks were led by Hannah Davis, earning a pair of individual medals for two fifth-place finishes in both the 100m hurdles and the triple jump. Lily Novak also earned two individual medals, placing fourth in discus and third in shot put.

Southwick’s Mackenzie Loudon medals thrice

Mackenzie Loudon put on a dazzling performance for Southwick, earning a pair of first-place finishes in the both 100m dash and the 200m dash. Loudon earned another medal later in the day after placing second in the triple jump.

“It just makes me really proud of myself because I put in so much effort throughout the season,” the Rams’ senior said, who will be competing for Hamilton College next year. “It’s finally coming forward.

“I’ve been doing lots and lots of block starts, just repetition. I have a new coach this year… he’s been working with me a lot, especially on my starts in the sprints. I haven’t gotten a lot of one-on-one before so just that repetition, you have to just keep going and keep going in order to perform well.”

Wahconah‘s Mia Chafee earns two medals in first season

Mia Chafee performed exceptionally well for Wahconah, taking home two medals for a first-place finish in the shot put and a fifth-place finish in the discus.

Chafee switched from softball to track this year as her spring sport. While her strength made this transition rather seamless, learning the technique of each field event was a necessary process to maximizing her potential and natural skill.

“I’ve trained so hard in the summer, (during my) off days, just means a lot,” the Warriors’ senior said. “I had to learn technique, (it’s not) just brute strength, but it comes with a lot of technique. Your technique needs to be good to throw far… you can be strong, but you need good technique.”