Perkins seeking titles as sophomore

Maddie Perkins joined the Groton outdoor track and field team as a freshman after years of playing softball and hit the ground running. She took up the throwing events of discus and shot put, leading to top-five finishes in both at the Section IV Class D Championships last year.

Perkins, who is also a starter on Groton’s basketball team, has picked up the sport quickly. She has established herself as one of the top throwers in Section IV as just a sophomore and explained how her interest in track came about quickly.

“I used to do softball, but when COVID got bad and we all got shut down, I didn’t have softball and I realized that I didn’t like it,” Perkins said. “Then one day, I was in health with Mr. Weeks, my coach, and he was talking about track and he put on a track video. Then, I just kind of fell in love with it. I decided to sign up, and here we are.”

Specialization happened right from the start for Perkins, who wasted no time picking up the throwing disciplines when presented with all the options of track and field.

“I’m not really a runner unless it’s a really need-to-run situation,” Perkins said. “I was talking to Mr. Weeks and he said, ‘You could always throw.’ And I said, ‘Well, I’ll give it a shot.’ And I gave it a shot. At first, it was pretty rough. But over time, I started to take it little by little. I watched a lot of videos, and my coaches and teammates helped me a lot. So, it took me a minute, but so far, so good.”

One of those teammates was Emma DeMatteo, who was the only other thrower on the girls track and field team for Groton last season to qualify for sectionals alongside Perkins. DeMatteo has since graduated, but Perkins was able to learn a lot from her in her freshman year.

“It was so nice,” Perkins said. “I had her as a teammate in basketball and in track. It was a familiar face. She was always pushing me and other throwing people to get our form down and do the right thing. She was a great teammate.”

While the regular season has come to an end, Perkins was able to gain confidence from the jump with a pair of individual wins in the first meet of the season against Lansing and Dryden, setting the tone for her year. Perkins recalled that experience.

“We always start the season as a team getting on the bus,” Perkins said. “Our coaches really prepare us really well. When we get there, we always have a good warm up. You have to get into the right headspace. Then, from there, it’s really on you because track’s an individual sport.”

While it is an individual sport, the support of teammates is always commonly cited as a reason for an individual’s success in track. Perkins believes that too.

“It’s so important,” she said. “If you’re not in an event, you’re always cheering on a teammate or looking for someone that’s in an event so you can go cheer them on too. The coaches and the teammates are really important.”

Everyone has had their own unique experiences with how the pandemic has affected them. For Perkins, it was the catalyst to her joining the sport she now loves.

“I think [the pandemic has] helped me more in a positive way than a negative way,” Perkins said. “I think if COVID didn’t happen, I wouldn’t even have thought about track. Now that I’m in, it’s like, ‘you might as well keep going and see how far you can get.’”

Perkins has built herself up to reach a personal record in discus of 76 foot 1 inch in her most recent meet on May 2. That is a full 10 feet greater than the score that placed her in second place at last year’s Section IV Championship.

“I personally would like to throw as far as I can,” Perkins said. “I want to put in the most work and effort. If I could go to states, that would be great. Or maybe I could even break a school record.”

The regular season of dual meets has come to an end for Groton, and the Section IV Championships are three weeks away. Another pair of top-five finishes is within reach for Perkins and perhaps an even better result if all goes well.

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