This spring, thanks to a handful of exceptional long-distance runners and sprinters, the girls’ varsity track and field team expects to place unprecedentedly high at the New England Championship meet, as a record-breaking 4×400 relay team should add to the collective victories of the program.

A consistently triumphant aspect of the Deerfield track program is its 4×400 relay. During the track and field season of 2010, team members Elizabeth Tubridy ’10, Shelbi Kilcollins ’12, Carley Porter ’12, and Tatum McInerney ’13 not only broke Deerfield’s record in the 4×400, but also dominated their competition. Their success qualified this year’s incredible team (Kerry Krause ’12, Carley Porter ’12, Connie Rhodes ’12, and Tatum McInerney ’13) for the distinguished Penn Relays, held on April 28.

“It’s supposed to be the biggest track meet in the world. Olympic, college, and high school athletes all compete,” explained McInerney.

The Deerfield girls attended only the first day of events. When asked about their results, McInerney provided a fervent response: “It was an amazing experience. Obviously it was really nerve-wracking, but also so much fun. We placed third, but the time we got at our following meet would have made us win. However, we did our best.”

The time from their following meet broke the Deerfield school record (a record set by the 2010 team). When summarizing the performance of this year’s girls’ track team as a whole, McInerney stated, “We’ve come a long way. I think we’re getting better and better.”

As for the championship meet, captain Victoria Serra ’12 predicted: “Ariel [Beauregard-Breton ’11] will obviously get first in something, Rose [Fisher ’13] will do really well in the 3000 meter, Devinne [Cullinane ’14] will do really well, and Tatum will definitely place in the 800 meter.”