OUR ATHLETE OF THE WEEK COMMUNITY PARTNER
Each week, Monitor staff selects and interviews a local Athlete of the Week. Learn more about their accomplishments, their goals and what makes them unique. We’d like to thank our sponsor Capital City Kia.
Our partners do not participate in the selection of these athletes. That is fully at the discretion of our journalists.
Pembroke Academy’s Caitrin Bergeron has broken all sorts of school records in track and field. She holds marks in the 1,500-, 1,000- and 600-meter runs, but she is still hunting to conquer those again and set new ones, too.
The junior qualified for the NHIAA’s cross country Meet of Champions her first two years and is headed into another season ready to compete.
Before the season began, the Monitor caught up with Bergeron to ask about the upcoming season leading the Spartans.
As we do each week, the first question will be posed by last week’s athlete of the week: the Taylor sisters, Maggie and Kiley, from Concord High softball.
Q: What’s one lesson from your sport you’ll carry with you for the rest of your life? – Maggie Taylor, Concord softball
A: One lesson I will always take with me is my grandfather’s famous quote, “Go the extra mile; it’s never crowded”. This is a lesson in running and in life.
Q: Do you have pregame/premeet superstitions? If so, what are they? – Kiley Taylor, Concord softball
A: A superstition that I, and the cross country and track and field team has, is that wearing sunglasses makes you run faster. So far, so good.
Q: What do you love most about your track and field team?
A: The one thing that I love most about the Pembroke Academy track and field team is that we treat each other like family. I have never walked into practice feeling excluded or that I don’t belong, and I know that I can say that speaking on behalf of my teammates as well. Most, if not all, of this is because of my outstanding coaches, Jared Williams, Kayley Couture and Alaina LaRochelle, who bring this team together by choosing to coach athletes.
Q: What’s your favorite event and why?
A: My favorite event has to be the 4×400 (relay). This is the last event of every meet and yet it usually has the most energy and loudest cheering sections from the stands and the teams. The 4×400 is a fast race, but each athlete has to have enough stamina to keep their pace through the entire lap. My favorite part is the close finishes. This event needs all four runners to give it their all, which puts the pressure on everyone, especially during the baton exchanges. Each leg can completely change the race. The 4×400 beats all other events because of the thrill and adrenaline it gives me.
Q: You participated in the heptathlon; what was that experience like?
A: I love the heptathlon because it gave me a chance to explore events that I most likely wouldn’t have tried during the regular season. I was able to learn how each event works and the different parts of my body I needed to use for each one. During the heptathlon, I found my strengths and my weaknesses, which I will now get to improve on before the next heptathlon. After the heptathlon I realized that you need to be a very well-rounded athlete to score high in each of these events, and that is exactly what my goal is for next year’s heptathlon. I placed 23rd in my sophomore year of high school, and with a little more training on the events I’m not as familiar with, I know that I’ll be scoring high.
Q: How have your coaches helped you improve?
A: I couldn’t have asked for better coaches, they are the reason I’m the athlete that I am today. Jared, Kayley and Alaina have put so much time, effort and dedication into helping me grow as an athlete. And it’s not all about watching my times drop in races or my throwing and jumping distances get further; they also helped me understand why every practice can’t be an easy run. And with that change in my mindset, I now find the fun in the workouts that most people would complain about. I know that my coaches aren’t here because they wanted to coach a sport; they’re here because they want to help athletes like me grow to our fullest potential and push ourselves to reach limits we never thought were reachable … until they came along. I couldn’t be more grateful to have them as my coaches. I would also like to shout out to my family for being the biggest support throughout my running career. They show up to every meet to cheer me on and help me improve overall as an athlete.
Q: What are your goals for the upcoming year?
A: I have a couple goals for each season. For cross country, I would like to get sub-20 minutes in the 5K and return to the Meet of Champions, but this time with the (whole) girls team. Indoor track, I want to continue to break my own school records in the 1,500, 1,000, 600 and possibly secure another one with the 300. For outdoor track, my goal is to make it to states for the 4×400, 800 and javelin again because I really enjoy those events, and I want to steadily keep up the training in all areas with hopes of placing high in the heptathlon my Junior year.