Although the tragedy that hit Harwood this past fall, when five of The Valley’s teenagers passed away in a car accident, has left public view, students continue to mourn their loss.
At the May 16 Harwood track event, the Highlanders honored Liam Hale before the 110-meter hurdle event. Harwood’s head coach, Taggart Haslam, even shut down the third lane, usually reserved for the fastest athlete, and it served as a “ghost runner” to remember Hale.
Coach Haslam told the assembled teams that Lane 3 is usually the No. 1 lane and was left open for a silent hurdler in honor of Hale. Haslam noted that Hale was all about his team and was watching and cheering them on.
When the gun sounded three of Harwood’s hurdlers took on two South Royalton athletes, but the outcome of the race seemed secondary. When all had crossed the line the announcer came over the loud speaker noting, “Liam won that one.”
