Starting in the spring of 2017, spurred by the interest of students, Proctor’s Athletic Department supported the launch of a track team. This spring, ten students, under the guidance of veteran coach Tom Gillen, are representing Proctor at both Lakes Region and state public school meets in a variety of track and field events.
With athletes of all levels, Proctor’s Track team seeks to teach the fundamentals of each discipline, working on individual technique, strategy, and human performance components of training. During the team’s second meet, a dual meet with Kimball Union Academy, Caroline Heldfond ‘26 finished first in the long jump, 400m and 100m hurdles. Co-captain Griffin Stewart ‘24 finished first in the 100m (11:36), first in the 200m, and tied for first in the long jump!
In a recent meet with nine schools at Kearsarge Regional High School the team continued their strong start as Griffin Stewart ‘24 finished 2nd in the 100m, and 2nd in the 300m hurdles, a new event for him. Logan Thorne-Begland ‘23 and Caroline Heldfond ‘26 finished 2nd and 3rd in the 300m hurdles, while Logan ‘23 also finished 3rd in the shot put, a new event for her, and Caroline ‘26 also came in 5th in the long jump. Both the girls and boys for 4x100 relay teams scored points as well.
Head Coach Tom Gillen notes, “The results were pretty remarkable for Proctor finishing 5th for both the boys and girls teams out of the nine schools. It is especially a nice accomplishment considering the number of athletes the four teams had that were ahead of us: 58, 54, 46 & 33, compared to our nine athletes. We are on the map, and changing the profile of Track at Proctor. I’m looking forward to continued success ahead.”
In recent years, six Proctor alumni have gone on to compete in Track and Field at the collegiate level: Colin Shaver '22 Boston College, Maia Doescher '21 College of Wooster, Andrew Harrell '19 Hamilton College, Peri Chase '18 Fordham University, Jon Tilton '18 College of the Holy Cross.
Sports Information intern Lily Zhang ‘24 profiled the team in the video above. Good luck to the Track Team as their season progresses!
