WESTBOROUGH – It all came together for the Westborough High School Rangers boys’ outdoor track team this season.
On May 27, the Rangers won the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association (MIAA) Division 3 outdoor track championship. The win represents Westborough’s first state championship. The Rangers had won several regional titles before the MIAA adjusted the state tournament format two years ago.
Head Coach Roger Anderson, who has coached the Rangers for over 26 years, said the team had high expectations going into the season.
“We felt very positive going into the season,” Anderson said. “We knew we had a lot of rising seniors who had contributed quite a bit last year in their junior year, and we felt positive about that.”
The team found early success, winning three straight meets to start the season. However, the Rangers’ perfect record was soon dashed after matchups against several challenging local competitors.
“We had a good start… [and] we were working really hard. Then, we stumbled in a dual meet against Shrewsbury, who performed really well against us, and then Algonquin beat both of us in our league meet. I think going through all those experiences certainly bonded the guys,” Anderson said.
Although the outdoor track team is rather large – over 120 athletes participate in the program – Westborough prides itself on supporting each other and developing team chemistry.
“Certainly not [every athlete] score[s] points for us, but we work hard to have a culture where everyone is valued,” Anderson said. “We have built-in layers of leadership… Our goal is to develop fine young men and women and compete like crazy.”
Competing in championship
The team was confident as it arrived at Fitchburg State University for the state championship.
“You always have an opportunity, right? You never know how it’s going to go, but our guys in practice were doing the right types of things, and they were practicing in the right way. We were seeing good results along the way, so we knew we had a chance,” Anderson recalled.
Westborough jumped out to an early lead after dominating the pole vault competition. Led by Coach Douglas Lang, five Rangers placed in the top six, including taking each of the top three spots. The 31-point performance separated Westborough from the rest of the group.
“That was huge – I don’t think any school scored that many points in any event,” Anderson said.
The team also did well in discus, but Anderson noted that the Rangers were performing well in all competitions, even if they weren’t necessarily adding to the team’s score.
“Our guys were performing at a very high level for us. In many cases, we had our best performances of the year. That’s what you hope and train for each season, but it doesn’t always play out. It was nice to have that work… Our hope is aways to perform at our best when it matters the most,” he said.
You can’t talk Westborough outdoor track without mentioning Alan Nguyen.
Nguyen, who has racked up athletic honors of all kinds throughout his high school career, scored over 25% of Westborough’s points at the meet. His 23 points almost single-handedly separated the Rangers (83 total points) from their nearest competitor (59.5 points).
Sebastian Grillo was also a “significant contributor,” according to Anderson.
In track and field, teams can follow the results of events and determine what the score will look like as the meet progresses. Toward the end of the meet, Westborough realized they had won.
“They were thrilled. They were all huddled together,” Anderson said. “The guys were excited about it. It’s the representation of the work we did this year and the things we do every year. Every Wednesday when we had a meet this year it rained hard, and we persisted and trained through it and competed through it.”
The win encapsulated everything Anderson loves about coaching.
“I think my favorite part of [coaching] is seeing the guys on the team achieve things that they didn’t think they could – having them realize the things that they wish for… and going out and be a part of something that’s bigger than themselves,” he said.
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