North Andover's Bard shakes off heat, takes two golds at Andover Boosters

May 15—ANDOVER — The blazing sun and heat that hovered around 90 degrees on the track may have been brutal, but North Andover's Jenna Bard was all smiles Saturday afternoon.

"It was too hot, but it was a very successful day," she said. "The sunburn was worth it!"

Bard scored victories in both the shot put and discus, and added a seventh in the javelin, to lead the way at the 66th Annual Andover Boosters Invitational on Saturday.

The Scarlet Knights senior took the discus with a 118-8, more than 17 feet better than No. 2. But it wasn't easy.

"For discus, I was rushing from javelin because my flight has already started, since they ran at the same time," said Bard. "I missed warm-ups for discus and I was frustrated and a little nervous. As I was going to throw, I remembered what I had been practicing, and my coach Alan Baginski says, 'No one throws more discuses then the Scarlet Knights.' So I calmed down, just threw and got the job done."

Bard took the shot put with a 38-9, better than three feet ahead of No. 2.

"For shot, shout out to Haverhill's Maddie (Goncalves, runner-up, 35-07.50)," said Bard. "She's so kind and so fun to throw with. It was a good vibe and I was just happy to throw and taking first."

Bard wasn't the only North Andover thrower to take gold on Saturday.

On the boys side, Scarlet Knight Nathan Jacques won the discus with a 142-6, nine feet better than No. 2.

"It felt good to come back and get gold," said Jacques. "I thought that it would take a while to get the distance I used to get a year ago, but it worked out today."

Fellow Scarlet Knight Matthew Wessel took the javelin with a 164-6.

"Even though it was a hot day out there, it was great final meet before we get ready for the championship portion of the season which starts next weekend," said Wessel. "Not my best throw, but given the conditions I'm happy with the mark and the overall result."

Andover's Parrott, Foster take gold

Andover's Jodi Parrott wasn't feeling fully healthy heading into Saturday. But that didn't stop her from taking home a pair of titles.

The record-setting senior and 2022 Eagle-Tribune girls indoor track MVP won both the 100 hurdles (15.03)and triple jump (37-8).

"I'm super thankful because I wasn't able to compete until a week ago because of a slight knee injury," said Parrott. "I'm definitely still adjusting to 100 hurdles instead of 55 hurdles, but it feels good to be able to compete at such a high level so soon.

"The heat was also something I needed to adjust to so I was strategic about triple jump, making sure I didn't lose too much energy before hurdle an relay finals. Our 4x100 placed second. We didn't run the time that we were hoping for, but it's always so special for me to be a part of a relay with some of my closest friends."

Golden Warrior Olivia Foster continued her pole vault dominance, winning the event with a 10-0. She also took third in the 100 dash (12.91).

"It was so nice to finally have a meet with good weather!" said Foster. "In the 100 preliminaries I ran a PR of 12.79. Next I pole vaulted and won with 10 feet. I put the bar at 10-10 for my next jump hoping to break our school record (10-9) but unfortunately didn't clear. In the 100 final I ended up getting third, which I was really happy about. Andover Boosters is a pretty big meet. It was a big accomplishment for me."

Adding victories for Andover on the boys side were Colin Kirn in the 800 (1:58.54) and Chris Worthley in the pole vault (12-9).

Lawrence, Methuen, Central takes titles

Fresh off a record-setting, MVP indoor season, Lawrence's Jordany Volquez won the 110 hurdles (14.08) and 200 (21.83).

"It was my first FAT (automatic) meet of the spring, so I was definitely pumped that I ran my PR (in the hurdles) from last season so early on," said Volquez. "And to win the 200 on top of that was great. Its good to run those times, because that means later on in the championship season I'll be running even faster."

Methuen earned victories from Michael Soucy in the 400 (50.19) and Freddy Coleman in the mile (4:22.56).

"I felt short of my goal of breaking 50 seconds, but it felt good to get the win against some great opponents," said Soucy.

Central Catholic's Adan Pemble won the 400 hurdles (57.03) while freshman Suuna Kalemera won the long jump (21-5).

"Suuna hit 21-0 at (MSTCA) Relays, so we knew he had it in him," said coach Mike Leal.

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