Track snares New England boys title, girls second

The Exeter boys track and field team was crowned 2023 New England Division I champions, and the Big Red girls placed second at the New England Prep School Track Association Championships (NEPSTA) this past Saturday at Andover.

The heavy rains did not slow down Big Red, as they received contributions from sprints, distance and field events to fuel an impressive weekend.

The boys scored 122 points on the day and outpointed second-place Deerfield by a staggering 29 points to secure their first NEPSTA championship since 2015. This mark continues an impressive run of regional success for both the boys and girls teams. This is the fourth title since 2013 for the boys program, who have also three runner-up finishes this decade and finished outside the top-5 just once since 2004.

The girls side has also proven to be a regular at the top of the rankings, finishing second in four of the last five championship meets and — like the boys — have finished outside the top five just once since 2004.  

Byron Grevious ’24 earned 2023 Meet MVP honors following two record-setting performances. Grevious snapped a 39-year-old meet record in the 1,500 meters when he crossed the line with a blistering time of 3:53.95. The previous record was set by Exeter's Steve O’Hearn ’84 at Interschols in 1984. Later in the day, Grevious returned to break his own meet record from 2022 with a time of 8:32.72 in the 3,000.

“Byron made masterful decisions in both races to secure the win before considering times,” said Exeter head coach Hilary Hall. “With that selfless approach, it was really cool to see Byron get the extra personal reward of fast times and the Meet MVP award.”

Big Red received other big time performances from up and down the lineup. Jaylen Bennett ’25 broke his own school record and finished first overall in the 400 meters with a time of 48.44 and placed first in the 200 meters at 22.23. Bennett also teamed up with Brandon Wong ’23, Jackson Giampa ’23, and Edward Hawkson ’23 to take first in the 4x100 meter relay with a time of 42.32 while joining forces with Charles Clavel ’25, Owen Dudley ’23, and Oliver Brandes ’23 to win the 4x400 meter relay with a time of 3:22.99.

Brandes also claimed a New England title in the 800 meters with a time of 1:53.74, more than two seconds faster than the second-place finisher.  Dudley added a third-place finish for Big Red with a time of 1:57.09.

Tanner Boulden ’24 took home first overall in the javelin with a top throw of 164 feet, 9 inches.

On the girls side, Tenley Nelson ’24 claimed the New England title in the 1,500 meters with a time of 4:42.67 while also finishing second in the 800 when she crossed at 2:17.44. Nelson was also a part of the 4x400 relay team with Willa Hock ’23, Kaylee Bennett ’23, and Jannah Maguire ’25 who placed second with a time of 4:05.17.

Hock claimed first overall in the long jump with a leap of 18’7.25’’ while also placing second in the triple jump with a best try of 35’1’’.

Daria Ivanova ’24 brought home the New England crown in the 3,000 in dominating fashion, crossing the line at 10:19.33, more than 19 seconds faster than the runner-up. Ina Mason ’23 was the pole vault champion with a successful attempt at 10-6.

“Saturday will go down as one of the worst weather days in decades for this meet,” said Hall. “You would have thought this team had trained in these conditions by the way that they performed. They were unflappable, tough, determined, and most importantly, they had put in the work to set it all up. Every event group contributed, making it a true full team effort.”