The 2022 indoor track season saw multiple Old Rochester Regional High School athletes shine with freshmen like Gabby Pinhancos and Maddie Connor impressing in their first indoor season and seniors like Taylor Green continuing to perform. However, one runner stood out from the rest and that was South Coast Conference Most Valuable Player Jen Williams.
A driving force for the Lady Bulldogs, Williams excelled in the 55-meter hurdles and dash, as well as the high jump, on ORR’s way to winning the SCC Championship which Williams says was the highlight of her season.
“I think coming into the season we were short a lot of important graduated seniors, and we were unaware of how we would perform, so winning the SCC Championship was a huge deal that let us know we had a lot of potential,” said Williams.
Following the regular season, Williams ended up going further than any other girl on the team. She qualified for the Division 4 State Championship meet in the hurdles, high jump and long jump. She finished second in the hurdles and high jump, earning her a spot in the All-State meet where she finished in fifth and sixth places in those respective events, advancing to the New England Championship meet.
After a seventh-place finish in the hurdles at the New Englands resulting in her just missing out on qualifying for nationals, Williams has turned her attention to the outdoor season. Heading into her final season of high school running, Williams has big hopes for her last ride.
One of her big goals is, “Definitely to (achieve a personal record) not just in (the 100 meter) hurdles but in high jump and long jump, too,” she said.
Like every senior athlete in his or her final season, Williams also wouldn’t mind a state title. “Probably the biggest goal is to win the state meet as a team,” she said.
Heading into the 2022 spring season, both ORR track teams are bigger than anything Williams has been a part of, with over 80 athletes between the boys and girls teams. With a bigger talent pool to aid veterans like Williams, Green, Julia Sheridan and Maggie Brogioli, that goal might be achievable.
While Williams’ high school career will come to an end this June, she is on pace to continue her track-and-field career. Williams has committed to run Division 1 track at UMass Amherst, where she will be studying Education.
Old Rochester’s first meet of the spring season is scheduled for Thursday, April 7, against Apponequet, pending weather.
Sports Roundup
By Matthew Curry