WHS alum soars to the finish line
Former Bomber dashes into Florida Warrior lore
By PETER FRANCIS
LAKE WALES, FL – A former Westfield Bomber is still racing. And still winning.
Melissa (Metcalf) Taylor, a 1997 graduate of Westfield High School and track star for the Bombers (in which she was All-Western Mass in the 880 meter) is still running. On January 21st, the 34 year-old finished first among all competing women in the annual Warrior Dash Race held in Lake Wales, Florida.
The race, featuring co-ed competitors from all over the United States, is described as “3.02 hellish miles”, with waves of up to 600 competitors starting at 13 different times throughout the two-day event.
“It was a fun experience,” the veteran speedster said, “I usually run a lot of road races, so this was a serious challenge. To compete among thousands of racers over the two days was amazing.”
Taylor finished first among all women and 20th overall for the Saturday race, with a time of 29 minutes, 15 seconds, equaling a 9:41 mile pace.
Taylor teaches public speaking & drama at Sebastian River high school in nearby Sebastian, FL. She and her husband Chris, himself a teacher at SRHS, have two children.
Taylor explained her motivation for running.
“All of the money they (The Warrior Dash) makes goes to St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital,” she said, “which goes to benefit terminally ill children. So I am very glad to have competed in such a great race for such a great cause.”
