After all the successes the Frontier outdoor track programs have enjoyed under coaches Bob Smith and Walter Flynn, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that Redhawks’ indoor team is thriving in its second year of existence. 

Both the Frontier boys and girls teams brought home hardware on Sunday at Smith College, with the Redhawk girls closing out the regular season with an unblemished 13-0 record, finishing 7-0 in the Valley League South to win the league title. The Frontier boys also won the Valley League South, finishing the regular season with a 12-1 record, and a 7-0 mark in league action. 

While it’s the second year the Redhawks are running in the winter, it might as well be their first as they only had two races a season ago. Girls coach Bob Smith said he’s been impressed with the dedication and effort his squad has shown to the sport. 

“We have about 18 boys and 28 girls who are totally committed to indoor track and field,” Smith said. “It’s so much fun to coach them. They work so hard. We’ve been lucky where there hasn’t been a lot of snow so when it’s not freezing, we can practice outside. When we’re inside, they still work hard running through the hallways, doing high jump in the cafeteria. I’m really proud of all of them and I know [Frontier boys coach Walt Flynn] is proud of them as well.” 

It took full team efforts for the Redhawks to stay unbeaten in the Valley League South, which consists of Greenfield, Baystate Academy, Athol, Commerce, Hampshire and Hampden Charter. 

Caroline Crocker, Hannah Davis, Lilly Novak, Summer Sobieski and Leah Gump have won individual events on the girls side while Evan Hedlund and Ben Cachiguango came up with individual wins on the boys side. 

Frontier regularly placed athletes in the top 10 during events in what’s been a dominant winter on the track. 

“We have some incredible talent on this team,” Smith said. “We have girls like Caroline Crocker, Hannah Davis, Abigail Howard, Leah Gump, the list goes on. It’s all about the talent and the girls all love it. They love running, they love jumping. I couldn’t ask for a better group.” 

There was a small transition for the Redhawks to indoor track. The field events are relatively unchanged, but many of the running events are of slightly different distances than the outdoor season, with athletes needing to adjust. 

So far so good, with Smith saying he expects the work put in during the winter season to pay dividends this spring, where the majority of the indoor athletes will also compete. 

“The good thing with having the mile and the two-mile, we have cross country kids who can take care of that,” Smith said. “The others have to transition to the 1,000 and 600 [meters], which is great because it gives them more speed training. I like the distances for indoor. It’s different than outdoor which makes it a different sport. It will help with the spring. We’re usually going against schools that have been running since August and we’re just getting started in March. Now we're on a more level footing with those schools.” 

Now that the regular season is over, Frontier turns its attention to the MIAA Div. 5 state meet, which takes place on Feb. 16 at the Reggie Lewis Center in Roxbury. 

Athletes must qualify individually to earn a spot in the state meet, with the official field set to be announced on Feb. 13. The Redhawks already have a few athletes who have punched a ticket, and will be looking to compete with the best in the state. 

“The standards are really sharp,” Smith said. “We’re hoping to have 10-12 of our kids in it and our two relay teams but that remains to be seen with how sharp the entry standards are. Caroline Crocker has qualified in the 55 and 55 hurdles, Hannah Davis is qualified in the 55 hurdles, Summer Sobieski is qualified in the high jump, Abigail Howard is just next to qualifying in the mile. We’ll enter everybody and hope we get as many kids there as we can then see what happens when we get there.”

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