Written by: McKenna Leaden ’16, Staff Writer

On the afternoon of Wednesday, April 13, the temperature reached to mid-sixty degrees, and track athletes dawned long-awaited shorts attire and light windbreakers. No wind was tormenting the back stretch of the track that day, so the athletes happily performed their warm up lunges and laps.

However, the athletes appeared more separated than normal today. One pack of white shirts circled the track in a single-file line, while a maroon squad ran in the opposite direction, in pairs of two.

Before the official season began (the week of Spring Break) for Bethel Boys and Girls Track and Field this year, these Wildcats recently held their own home meet: the Maroon and White Meet. The purpose of this annual event is to shake out any pre-meet nerves and rally a competitive spirit among the athletes.

Both the boys and girls teams were split in two by Tuesday, April 12 and ready for battle. The coaches worked to create the Maroon teams versus the White teams by splitting athletes of compatible abilities up, and spreading the boys and girls of each discipline (sprinters, jumpers, throwers, distance) evenly onto each team.

Although it was a close competition, Maroon came out on top, for both the boys’ and the girls’ teams. It was very cut-throat at the end because the 3200 meter race was the last event, and it was also the deciding factor for which boys team would win the meet overall, whether the maroon runner or the white runner crossed the finish line first!

Shouts and claps broke out as Mr. Ciparelli announced the winner at the end of the meet, and a huge roar erupted from the pole vault mats, where the boys were seated.

Outstanding performances came from Amanda Weiner ‘18 in the 100 meter dash along with the 400 meter race, and Sarah Mello ‘17 jumping pole vault. Chris Fernandez ‘16 excelled in the boys’ 800 meter race, and Brian Carraturo ‘17 and Dillon Bel ‘17 led the boys’ distance events, in the 1600 meter and 3200 meter races.

In addition to these exciting and noteworthy performances, the fact that the Girls Track team had already raced, or jumped, twelve state-qualifying times at this practice meet, promises a successful and exciting season ahead.