In 2014, the girl’s track and field team lost just one Patriot Division meet, ending the season in second in the division race. The lone loss came against Delran.
In 2015, the girl’s track and field team went 4-0-1 in the Patriot, with the lone tie coming against Delran. The meet tie meant the Pirates shared the Patriot title with the Bears.
2015 also saw the Pirates finish second in the Patriot at the BCSL Meet. The team had just four seniors last year and two of them missed the entire year due to injuries.
In 2016, the Pirates are gunning for the Patriot title outright with just three seniors.
“We’re mostly freshman, sophomore, junior again this year,” head coach Derek Moore said.
The girl’s program returns quite a few talented athletes from last year’s squad including Olivia Rocks, Andrea Benites, Fiona Flynn and more.
“Our distance section is probably our strength. We’re deep,” Moore said. “Madison Edwards ran cross country, did not do winter track, but she swam. She was a key contributor to the cross country team. Anne O’Malley did cross country, played basketball, and is out here this spring. We expect big things out of our distance section this spring.”
The program returns all four runners from the record-setting 4×800 meter team in Rocks, Benites, Flynn and Haley Adams.
“A lot of our distance girls train from cross country to winter track to spring track,” Moore said. “It gets them ready for the season. They are miles ahead of where they would be if they didn’t. There’s a core of people that do the winter season and it helps them out tremendously.”
The field portion of the program will also be strong in 2016, especially the jumps.
“Our jumps are genuinely always strong,” Moore said. “This is the first time since I’ve been here that we’ve had tall girls that could jump. I’ve got three girls who are nearing six feet. They look pretty good.”
The weight/throwing portion of the program is young, but talented this season.
“They get after it in the weight room every day,” Moore said. “They push each other. If somebody’s not falling in line, they will let them know about it and they make them work. Our shot put and discus have been pretty good over the past few years.”
“Javelin has been our weakest point up there. With the numbers we’ve had this year, we have somewhere around 50 or 53 girls, we’re able to send some sprinters up to learn how to throw the javelin. It has been a much-needed addition for us.”
The girl’s track and field team opens its season on Saturday, April 2 at the Hall of Fame Meet hosted by Maple Shade. Their run at a Patriot title begins on Tuesday, April 12 with a home meet against Pemberton.
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