Andover Boosters Preview: Andover's Haskell stars on track, nears Eagle Scout honors

When Kyle Haskell’s legs begin to ache, and his lungs start to burn as he pours his all into another grueling mile or 2-mile race, the Andover High star calls upon the training that has instilled in him perseverance and, above all else, the resolve to finish every job.

“I’m a rising Eagle Scout,” said Haskell. “The life lessons from Scouts has translated to success in track in a major way. Through Scouts I’ve learned the importance of dedication and continuing to work no matter what. Ranks and badges didn’t come at the snap of my finger. Working through the younger ranks of Scouting is just like building up your endurance at the start of your running career, it’s slow and it takes a ton of work, but once you start to accomplish your goals, the eagerness only grows.”

Those lessons have been undeniably paying off.

After Eagle-Tribune All-Star seasons in cross country and indoor track, Haskell and his Golden Warrior teammates will kick off the major meet portion of the spring track season by hosting the Andover Boosters Meet on Saturday (10 a.m.) at the Eugene V. Lovely Field track.

And Haskell’s goal is simple.

“I want to win,” he said. “Every time I step up to the starting line, that’s always the goal, no matter the competition. To be able to cross the finish line first on my home track is the No. 1 goal. On top of that, school records are always on my mind. Finishing one second off of the indoor mile record has set a chip on my shoulder. I don’t want to be second, I want to be the best.”

So far this season, Haskell has earned a 2-mile victory in a dual meet against Haverhill (PR 9:52.40), a mile victory against North Andover (4:35.29) and an 800-meter win against Central Catholic (area-best 1:57.74). That follows a winter when he placed fourth in the mile at Meet of Champions (PR 4:19.26) and won the MVC title (4:21.27).

He has done that while he pursues his dream of becoming an Eagle Scout, which he plans to finalize in the coming weeks.

“Working toward becoming an Eagle Scout has been a lot of work, starting all the way back in sixth grade,” said Haskell, who will next run at Fairfield University “In order to achieve the rank, I’ve had to hold numerous positions of leadership and become educated in a variety of subjects from camping to family life. Because of the dedication and hours that I’ve put in, I do take a good bit of pride in it.”

Track came a bit later, due in part to the struggles of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Once the COVID outbreak started, physical activity for me came to a stop,” he said. “So I was too out of shape to make the soccer team my freshman year. My only back-up for a sport was to run cross country. I never liked to run, it always felt like a punishment to me. But my dad pushing me to not give up on athletics, I gave cross country a try.

“To be completely honest, I didn’t like track right away. I was terrible at it. When I first started I couldn’t run half a mile without stopping to take a break. But I kept with it because of the friends, and it really clicked sophomore year when I started to see my hard work pay off.

Now, he’s excited to represent the Golden Warriors at their home invitational one more time.

“This meet has been on our minds all season. This is one of the biggest meets that we have the opportunity to compete in. Everyone takes pride in this meet. We want to do the best against some of the finest in the state to the best of my ability, defending our track and shining light on Andover.”

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