Track and Field Team Are New England Champions

On 19 May, Roxbury Latin’s track and field team bested its competition in the weekend’s New England Preparatory School Division III Championship hosted by the Hyde School in Bath, Maine. For the second year in a row, RL took the coveted title—this year by a margin of 13 points, over Hyde.

For the second year in a row, RL pole vaulters finished in first, second and third place, with Milan Rosen (II), Evan Lim (I), and Alvin Massenat (II) sweeping the medals. Milan broke his own school record (which he set just last week) clearing 13’3”. His previous record stood at 12’9”. Milan emerged as a double New England champion, also winning the 300 hurdles. In the pole vault event, Milan secured his fourth straight ISL and New England title.

Younger athletes on the team figured significantly into the successful season, and in the Championship meet: Ejiro Egodogbare (III) took the silver medal in shot put; Reid Corless (III) scored in three events; and Quinn Donovan (IV) and Daniel Gillis (III) scored in the distance events.

Other point scorers this weekend (placing in the top six for their respective events) were co-captain Paul Kuechler (I), co-captain Ayinde Best (I), Ben Lawlor (I), John Philippides (I), Brendan Gibbons (II), Adam Berk (II), Aidan Bowen (II), Nate Ukoha (III), Thomas Gaziano (IV), and Sam Morris-Kliment (IV).

A symbol of the team’s supportive and collaborative foundation was displayed by the 4×100 relay squad—which included one senior, one junior, and two freshmen. Seeded sixth, the relay team finished in second place.

The team will graduate 11 seniors—six of whom have been members of the team for four years. With a record of 16-2 on the season, Coach Erin Dromgoole credits the team’s senior leadership with setting the example of strong work ethic, stellar sportsmanship, and deep care for one another.

While each senior contributed in many valuable ways, several seniors made tangible progress over their RL track and field experiences: Andrew Steinberg progressed to become one of the top runners in New England, finishing his career with the equivalent of a 4:43 mile, good for 12th all-time at RL. Ben Lawlor graduates as RL’s fourth fastest 3000m runner of all time, running an average of 5:03 per mile for nearly two miles. Evan Lim graduates as the bronze medal winner in the pole vault at two straight New England Championships and the program’s fourth best vaulter all-time, clearing a bar height of 11 feet. On Saturday, co-captain Paul Kuechler ran a lifetime personal best to finish third in the New England 400m race.

“I’m proud of and grateful to [co-captains] Ayinde and Paul for embodying our team motto, Love Each Other, to its fullest,” said Coach Dromgoole during the Spring Athletic Awards Hall.

“In any given season, we normally return about 12 of our Championship meet ‘starters,’” continued Coach Dromgoole. “This year, we returned just six. We were—and are—a team full of young talent. [The team’s younger athletes] rewrote the school record books, setting new Class IV and Class III records in five different events, and scoring 30% of our points in our successful defense of our New England Championship title.”

The future is bright for Roxbury Latin track and field. Captaining next year’s team are Alvin Massenat (II), David Meneses Ontiveros (II), and Milan Rosen (II).