A story of speed, from the Astros girls track team:
On the morning of May 21, 2022, only two Pinkerton Academy girls 4x100m teams had ever run under 50.00. The first ever to do it was the 2008 MOC edition of Alexis Maylor ’10, Jordan Doherty ’10, Nicole Reynolds ’09, and Bree Robinson ’08. The next team to dip under 50 was 2010 D1 quartet Doherty, Caroline Sennott ’10, Maylor, and Abbey Smith ’12. That’s it.
But at the 2022 Londonderry Invitational, the Astros ducked under again and started to make it a habit. In fact, this group would never run above 50 again that season. The relay team of Eva Roberts, Madi Connors ’22, Jordan Wheaton, and Hannah Sippel bolted to a 49.46, a school record by a third of a second. At D1, eh we’ll skip that* but at MOC they dropped a 49.72 followed by their season’s best New England’s 49.42 school record. They capped their season at the Adidas National with a 49.67.
Consistent excellence ain’t easy. When the dust settled on the 2022 season, the girls had run the four fastest relay times of any Pinkerton team.
Encore? The team lost Madi Connors to graduation but reloaded with freshman Nora Brayell. Eva, Jordan, Nora, and Hannah shot under 50 for the first time at the Nashua North Invitational with a 49.58. In April! At Clipper Relays they exploded. Under 49 for the first time in school history, they reset the school record to 48.98.
They followed it at the Concord Dual (a dual!) with a 49.81 and two days later 49.61 at the Merrimack Invitational. What was once rare became routine. A 49.28 at the Londonderry Invitation was the precursor to the D1 Championship Meet race of 48.94, the current school record.
So, just so we’re clear while you can still appreciate seeing them run, all of the top 10 4x100m relay times in Pinkerton girls history belong to only five Astros: Eva Roberts, Madi Connors, Nora Brayall, Jordan Wheaton, and Hannah Sippel. This is a sick looking table:
18 June 2023 Update: Another look at that table at season’s end.
* – 48.82 and disqualified for unsportsmanlike conduct because they swore during celebration or something. C’mon officials. Be better.