Thornton Academy Postscripts Alumni Magazine Summer 2007 | Page 17

www.thorntonacademy.org

UPCOMING EVENTS
TA Field Hockey
Celebrates 55 Years
On Friday, August 24, Thornton will celebrate the 55th anniversary of interscholastic field
hockey, yet another milestone in
our long and distinguished athletic history.
TA has always boasted a
proud athletic tradition, and
women’s sports have increasingly
earned their place alongside the
traditional men’s teams. Before
Title IX, girls at TA and elsewhere had few athletic options,
and field hockey was one of the
most popular.
Intramural games began in
1947 and were played in the
parking lot at the end of the football field. TA’s first interscholastic field hockey team took the
field 55 years ago, in the fall of
1952. During the the first eight
years of play, the Maroon & Gold
posted seven winning seasons,
including back-to-back unde-

feated seasons in 1956 and 1957.
During the 50s and 60s, Thornton girls played on All Star teams
and in All Star Games.
Thornton was crowned the
Big 8 Conference Champion in
1974, and in 1988 the team won
the SMAA Championship. The
early 1990s saw three straight
playoff appearances for the
Golden Trojans, and in 1996 the
first annual alumni game was
played.
Field hockey is still going
strong at TA, with varsity, junior
varsity and freshman teams, a
total of 58 girls in 2006.
The 55th anniversary celebration will include an alumni/varsity game at 6 p.m. and a get-together following.
All alumni are invited to play
against the current varsity. Or, if
enough folks are interested, we’ll
form alumni vs. alumni teams,

Thornton to Host
the New England
Regional Track Meet
On June
14, 2008,
TA’s Dr. Paul
S. Hill Jr.
Stadium will
again play
host to more
than 1,000
athletes from
all over New
England for
the New England Track &
Field Championships.
Alumni Board
member and
track coach
George
Mendros ‘76
Photo by Shawn Patrick Ouellette ‘89
says, “When
Track team members from Thornton Acadwe hosted
emy will participate in the New England
Regional Track meet. Above, August Ibekilo
for first time
‘09 practices the long jump.
in 2005,
several veteran coaches said it was the best New England
meet they had ever attended. The facility is first rate.
But more than that, TA was excited to host the meet and
it showed in many areas, from concessions to volunteer
s