Amherst Girls 4 x 400 Relay Racks up Another Championship at New Englands
Amherst’s State Champion 4 x 400 meter relay team (L-R) Moriah Leutjen, Skylar Fox, Ella Austin, Ololara Baptiste. In the New England Championships Ruby Austin replaced Ella Austin. Photo: Instagram / mass track
The 37th New England Interscholastic Track and Field Championships were held at Veteran’s Field in New Britain, Connecticut on June 14, and for the first time in school history, Amherst Regional High School brought home a championship. The girls 4 x 400 relay team of Olalara Baptiste, Skylar Fox, Ruby Austin, and Moriah Luetjen won the race by nearly six seconds over second place Windsor High School, setting a new Western Massachusetts record of 3 minutes 52.36 seconds. The team is competing this weekend in the Nike Outdoor National High School Championships in Eugene, Oregon.
In addition to the winning relay team, Luetjen took second place in the 400 meter race with a time of 55.54 seconds. The 4 x 100 relay team of Baptiste, Austin, Luetjen and Claire Fortin placed third in a time of 48.83 seconds. Fortin also placed ninth in the triple jump with a leap of 34 feet 8 inches.
Hernandez Castro Wins Boys Wheelchair Shot Put
On the boys’ side, Senior Angel Hernandez Castro won the wheelchair shot put, throwing 9 feet 6 inches, a personal best. The wheelchair shotput is a relatively new event and Hernandez Castro was instrumental in advocating for it to be included as a championship event. Senior Logan Alfandari was eighth in the shot put with a toss of 56 feet 4 inches and 17th in the discus at 151 feet 9 inches. All of the above athletes are competing in Oregon this weekend.
