Even without a home track, these Diman athletes are going to Adidas Nationals

Foley and Desroches, with coaches Aaron Soares and Kyle Francoeur

FALL RIVER — Not having a track to practice this season at Diman Regional Vocational Technical High School was difficult for student athletes.

But for Grace Flattery, Maxwell DesRoches and Emma Foley, it made them mentally and physically stronger.

Now the Bengals national qualifying trio are reaping the rewards with a trip to Greensboro, North Carolina this Saturday to compete at the Adidas Track and Field Nationals.

"I am super excited to compete at Nationals," Flattery said. "I can’t wait to have this experience with my friends.

Diman track and field athletes Grace Flattery, Emma Foley and Max DesRoches stand in the middle between Coach Francoeur and coach Aaron Soares after a recent meet this season.
Flattery and Foley, both junior captains, will be competing in the Girls National Elite Division. Flattery will try her luck in the high jump while Foley will compete in the triple jump

DesRoches, a freshman, will compete in the Boys National Elite Division in the high jump.

"All three of these athletes demonstrate incredible work ethic and are extremely coachable," Diman head coach Aaron Soares said. "Despite not having a home track to use during the construction of our new building, our kids have trusted in their coaches getting creative with training to utilize our makeshift practice facility to the best of their ability.

"They are great leaders on the track and in their school communities, and are the perfect representatives of Diman to display their talents on the National stage."

As construction raging on at Diman Regional Vocational Technical High School, the team was forced to practice at Talbot Middle School and B.M.C. Durfee High School as often as possible.

"I have been able to workout and prepare for this season in many different and effective ways," DesRoches said. "Although we don’t always get to practice on a track, we still have good and efficient workouts at Diman. It has personally worked very well and I feel that I have had a very successful season. I credit this to the amazing and devoted coaches that we luckily have."

Foley agreed.

"Not having a track has been tough since sometimes we can’t practice certain things," she said. "But my awesome coaches made it possible for us to get the practice we needed."

Each of the three athletes have some lofty goals to fulfill this weekend.

"My goal at Adidas nationals is to jump 5’4"," said Flattery, a Swansea resident.

"My biggest goal coming into nationals is to jump 6’0"," said DesRoches, a Westport resident.

Foley said she has two goals to meet.

"I have two major goals for nationals," said the Somerset resident. "My first goal is to jump 36’0" in the triple jump and my second goal is to have fun. Even if I can’t reach my goal , I’m still going to stay positive and enjoy the moment."