The Newport Daily Express

Falcons Getting Ready For Decathlon

MIKE OLMSTEAD Sports Editor

NEWPORT–Nine members of the North Country track and field team will get to compete one more time this season, as the they will be taking part in the Vermont High School State Decathlon Championship next week.

Jack Young, Riann Fortin, Josie Chitambar, James Cilwik, Ian Applegate, Thankful Cilwik, Caden Colburn, Liam Beatty, and Reeve Applegate will be the representatives for the Falcons at the event.

Lindsey Lefebvre, one of the North Country track and field coaches, and the head coach of the indoor track team, is guiding this year’s crew, and she talked about the upcoming event, saying, “The spring track and field season is a demanding one. There is always fun mixed in, but athletes are pushed to their physical limits throughout the season, and there is little time to take a step back and really appreciate their hard work. The final event of the season, the Vermont State Decathlon, is a wonderful opportunity for a small subset of the team to try new events, and simply enjoy all that track and field has to offer. Distance runners, throwers, and sprinters all step even farther out of their comfort zone, and are almost always surprised by how much fun they have participating in the event.”

Fortin, who competes in the javelin, shot put, and discus, as well as playing softball, talked about why she decided to try her hand at the decathlon.

“I just really wanted to try something new and decathlon seemed like a lot of fun,” she said.

She also spoke about what events she was looking forward to and which ones she was a little concerned about.

“I’m definitely most worried about the pole vault and the fifteen hundred, and the ones I’m most excited about are the throwing events,” said Fortin.

Colburn normally competes in he 100 and 200 meter dashes, and when asked why he is coming out for the decathlon he simply said, “It looks fun.”

As for which events he looking forward to and which ones he is not, he said he was worried about the pole vault, much like Fortin, but he is excited to give the hurdles a try.

One interesting note is that Jack Young will be competing with a broken right hand, which is his throwing hand.

Young, who looked like he could’ve grabbed a spot on the podium at States in the throwing events had his hand not been broken, still competed at the State Meet using his left hand.

It will be interesting to see how he fares this time around.

The decathlon will be taking place at the site of the Division I State Championships, Burlington High School, and will take place over the course of two days, Tuesday June 15th, and Wednesday June 16th.

Good luck to all of the athletes competing.

Express Sports

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2021-06-11T07:00:00.0000000Z

2021-06-11T07:00:00.0000000Z

https://newportvermontdailyexpress.pressreader.com/article/281646783081151

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