By Christopher Tremblay

Staff Sports Writer

Last spring the Hopedale boys track team finished 24th as a team in the Central / West Division 2 Outdoor Track Sectionals with Ryan Hayes (2:08.4) finishing twelfth in the 800 as the Blue Raiders top returning individual performer. Jackson Hunt took home seventeenth place in the 2-mile with a time of 11:27.45 and Cam Parker was one-fourth of the 4x4 relay team that finished in 10th place.

As the season begins to get underway for the 2022 campaign, Hopedale is looking to improve upon last year’s performance and hopefully has a few more athletes finishing into the higher levels of their events.

Although the season has yet to get underway as of this writing, boys Coach Joe Drugan is not ready to make any predictions however he is optimistic.

“It is still very early so I can’t really say how we will do, but I do know that we will be competitive. We are looking pretty good, and the kids are working hard,” the Hopedale Coach said. “Last year we were able to finish third in the DVC (Dual Valley Conference); the harder we work, the better we will become. We’ve had a lot of kids sign up this year, but who knows what will become of it by the time the season begins.”

Drugan went on to say that Hopedale is one of the smallest schools in the area, but is truly blessed with some talent athletes that have the support of their parents. 

“Our goal as coaches is to work with what we have and try to get the best out of our student athletes. I can’t stress it enough that you need both academics and athletics to succeed in the future,” he said. “Covid-19 took a lot of people out of their game, and they need to recover from it; so, we’ll see what we get from them this upcoming season.”

Sophomore Cam Parker will be looking to follow in his older brother Will’s footsteps and make a name for himself on the track. Parker, who also played basketball and ran cross country for the Blue Raiders, will continue to be part of the Hopedale relay teams while also throwing the shot-put. 

Another talented shot-put thrower will be eighth-grader Ari Levine, who is already tossing the shot-put in the 38 -39-foot range.

Ryan Hayes can do just about anything he is asked of according to the Coach. As a mid-distance runner, Drugan is looking to convert him into a hurdler to give the team an aspect they are lacking.

“It shouldn’t be an issue (training Hayes to hurdle), Drugan said. “He is a very intellectual runner who picks things up very quickly. Once he gets use to it, he’ll be a good one.”

Another all-around athlete that the coach is looking to earn the Blue Raiders points will be Matt Marchoni, who will take part in the hurdle, sprints, the long jump, and the triple jump.

Senior Jacob Russell will run the mid-distances while throwing the javelin; sophomore Jackson Hunt will run the distance events (800, 1-mile, 2-mile) and the trio of sophomore Phillip Carroll, sophomore Alex Carbo and senior James Seaver will also give the team added runners in the distance events. Seaver will also contribute with taking part in the long and triple jump.

In addition to its returners, Drugan will also have a handful of newcomers to the team. Again, he is unsure of what this new talent can give to him and in what event so it’s something we’ll have to wait to see what they are capable of once the season gets underway.

“There is still a lot of mystery with this team, but speed and our throwers could be the keys to our success this year,” Drugan said. “I don’t like to make predictions, but I will tell you this we will be competitive. I know that as I saw the talent that we had during the winter season, and I hope it translate to the spring.”

During the winter Hopedale was named DVC co-champions with Nipmuc Regional. It was the second time in the last 16 years where Hopedale was able to capture the title.