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07/05/2018 12:00 AMAddi Marchese really hit the ground running for the Valley Regional girls’ outdoor track team this spring. The freshman earned the Warriors’ Most Valuable Player Award following a season of stellar performances in the 100- and 200-meter dashes, the 100 hurdles, and as the lead leg in Valley’s all-freshman 4x100 relay team. Addi qualified to compete in all of her events at both the Shoreline Conference Championship and the Class M State Championship. She’s also a combo guard for the Valley girls’ basketball team and won the club’s Rookie of the Year Award this winter.
Addi says it came as a shock when she received MVP honors at the Warriors’ recent season-ending banquet. The freshman wasn’t expecting anything too big in her first year at Valley. Addi believes that she was just one of many athletes who had a great year for the track team.
“At the banquet, I was very surprised. There were so many others that could have won it and deserved it, but I was very honored to get it as a freshman,” Addi says. “I didn’t think I contributed as much as some of the coaches thought I did, so it was a big honor to me.”
Addi especially enjoys running the 4x100 relay with fellow freshmen Hanna Babek, Audrey Lenda, and Madelyn Costello. Together, they were the only all-freshman quartet to qualify for the Class M state meet in the 4x100. Addi feels pleased about what they accomplished while running against more experienced competition.
“They are amazing runners. They all contributed so much,” says Addi of her relay-mates. “It was so cool to go to the big meets and know that we are an all-freshman team competing against seniors and juniors.”
As much as Addi likes the 4x100 relay, her favorite event is the 100-meter hurdles. There’s just something about the urgency of jumping over a sequence of hurdles, while finding spots to trim her time, that appeals to Addi.
“I like the challenge of trying to jump over 10 hurdles in the shortest amount of time possible,” Addi says. “Some of the girls at meets are very good. It’s fun to see their form and learn from them and get better over the year.”
The admiration that Addi has for her fellow athletes at Valley is mutual. The Warriors depended on Addi to score points this year, and she was happy to contribute in any way she could.
“It’s humbling to think that, only being a freshman, that other people on my team look to me to help them towards a win,” says Addi, who lives in Essex. “It’s a responsibility that I take very seriously. I will always try to perform my best, even in my off days, to help my team.”
Valley girls’ track Head Coach Chris Allegretti believes that Addi has a lot to feel proud of already. He’s looking forward to seeing what she has in store for the Warriors during the next few years.
“Addi was a tremendous hurdler for us this year. She’s an incredibly gifted athlete, and she works very hard,” Allegretti says. “She qualified for states in all of her events, which is amazing as a freshman. It really speaks to her athleticism. I’m very excited to have her as part of the program.”
In addition to her talents on the track, Addi is a defensive pest on the basketball court. She averaged 1.5 steals per game last year and also used her speed on offense to slip past opposing defenses to either drive for a layup or create opportunities for her teammates.
“I’m good at surveying the court on defense. I can see where the offense is passing, and I get steals off that,” she says. “If someone’s defending me, I’m good at breaking them down, getting around them, and getting to the basket.”
When Addi isn’t competing on the court or the track, she often finds herself in front of her piano, learning songs to play and sing. Music helps relieve stress and take Addi’s mind off the occasional tough day.
“I like to sing a lot. It calms me down. If I’m stressed out, I will go and play my piano and sing. I took piano lessons when I was in 4th grade. Now, I teach myself how to play and, just for fun I’ll teach myself a song,” says Addi, who performed in the Ivoryton Playhouse’s production of It’s a Wonderful Life last December. “It’s my outlet. I can come home and play and sing, and it will calm me down.”
This fall, Addi plans on adding a third sport to her repertoire as she’s going to try out for the Valley volleyball squad. As Addi looks ahead to her sophomore year, she acknowledges the support of the people who helped her have such a fantastic freshman foray at Valley Regional.
“I owe a lot to Coach Allegretti and [Track coach Tim King] for helping me find new things and see what I’m good at. I’d like to thank [basketball Head Coach Geoff Konstan], as well. He believes in me in everything that I do, and he puts me in situations where I can succeed on the basketball court,” Addi says. “I’d like to thank my teammates for always having my back and picking me up to help me get through tough times, and I’d like to thank my entire family for supporting me and helping me achieve my goals.”