On Sunday, June 11, 2023, a team of student athletes from Westwood’s Thurston Middle School (Thurston) came away from the Division 2 Massachusetts Middle School Track and Field Championship competition with three first place finishes and nine Top 10 finishes, according to David Lamb, Thurston’s computer science teacher who serves as coach to the Thurston team.
Thurston took 1st place in the 4x400 meter relay with a time of 4:34.45 by eighth graders Hailey Cashman, Lindsey Bannister, Elyse Boger and Susannah Rockers.
Relay team member Elyse Boger explains a driving motivation behind her performance.“[K]nowing that the people on my team were relying on me, [ ] pushed me to run faster,” she says.
Photo courtesy David Lamb. The girls 4x400 meter relay champions are Hailey Cashman, Lindsey Bannister, Elyse Boger and Susannah Rockers.Along with being a member of the winning 4x400 relay team, Hailey Cashman also turned in a 1st place finish in the Girls 400 meters. That makes her 100 percent gold in the two events she participated in. Her time in her individual event was 1:02.87, a 3 second improvement from her fourth place finish in the same event in 2022.
Hailey’s performances are even more impressive when one learns that she had been battling tendonitis in her legs. The condition interfered with her training, she says. But like Elyse, Hailey finds motivation from her teammates.
“I didn’t want to let myself or my teammates down,” she said. “The girls on my relay team are awesome and I’m so lucky I had the chance to run alongside them at a state level competition,” she says.
Competitiveness is also a driver of her success. “I have a very competitive attitude and I think that’s what motivates me the most. I never want to lose. I also just love that feeling you get when you cross the finish line and you know you’ve done your best because you need to just lie on the ground for a while,” says Hailey.
Photo courtesy David Lamb. Konstantino Giannopoulos and Hailey Cashman took gold in the 200 meter dash and the 400 meter dash, respectively, at the state competition.Konstantino (Tino) Giannopoulos (8th grade) took 1st place in the Boys 200 meters with a time of 24.88 seconds. Dedication is a key to his personal success. While he observes that he has missed a couple of practices due to other sports commitments, “I would practice on my own time to get better,” he says.
As much of a competitor as Tino is, like Elyse and Hailey, he is also a team player. “[I’m] really glad that so many of my teammates did great,” he adds.
Karson Chaplin (7th grade) finished 2nd in the Boys hurdles with a time of 15.80. This year is his first try at hurdling.
“What motivates me to participate in track is winning,” says Karson. “I enjoy the thrill of competition and I like competing with my friends.” Karson says that in 2024, he looks forward to turning the tables on this year’s winner. “I’m confident that I will do better next year and hope to beat him,” he remarks.
Ryan Colleran (7th grade) took 2nd place in the Girls 800 meter event with a time of 2:36.80. She shaved 9 seconds off her performance at the meet in 2022.
Shane MacDonald (8th grade) finished 4th in the Boys 400 meters with a time of 57.39. He also took 8th place in the 200 meters with a time of 26.20. The 14 year-old says he has had his “best run of the season” at the state competition. His key to success is preparation.
“The 400 is very hard to pace,” says Shane. “I had to break it down mentally. I did research online to learn more about the event. Also, the high school coach gave me some advice and helped me train. It was a huge help,” he says.
Photo courtesy of Tammy MacDonald. Shane MacDonald displays his medals for finishing 4th in the 400 meter dash and 8th in the 200 meter dash.Kaylie Cartagena (8th grade) took 9th place in the Girls hurdles with a time of 18.71. Kaylie competed in the 100 meter dash at the state competition last year. This year’s switch to hurdling appears to have been to her advantage, signifcantly increasing her competitiveness.
Tor Webb (7th grade) took 10th place in the Boys hurdles with a time of 17.34.
Coach Lamb notes that along with the success of these Top Ten performers, nearly 50 Thurston athletes recorded a qualifying time for the Massachusetts State competition. This represents the largest number of qualifying athletes from Thurston for state competition, ever, according to Coach Lamb. Of those, 21 athletes attended the Massachusetts States competition, he says.
“This year our team had a big jump in performance. I attribute this to the effort of my teammates and coaches,” observes Shane MacDonald.
Coach Lamb comments, “At Thurston, our main goal is to foster a lifelong love of running while learning the basics of form to help them [the athletes] improve.”
It seems that Thurston’s program is succeeding at that goal.
“Track has been a highlight of my time at Thurston, and I hope to continue it in high school,” said double-gold medalist Hailey. “It’s a great bonding experience and I’ve made so many friendships.” Additionally, she notes, “I truly believe you get out of this sport what you put into it. It’s incredible when all the hard work finally pays off.”
Thanks to David Lamb, Jen Teahan, and Thurston Middle School's Track and Field state competition medalists and their families for their contributions to this article.
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