First to come, last to go: Indoor Track runners finish regular season at Capital University

As the third and final official meet of the season, the Winter Track team traveled to Capital University in Bexley, Ohio. More than 70 teams total attended from the Ohio region.

Carly Lefton, 12, practices starts on one of the few warm days during the Winter Track season. She competed in three events at the Capital University High School Invite- the 60 meter dash, 200 meter dash, and the 800 meter relay. Three events were a common number among the members of the small team. Photo courtesy of McDaniel’s Photography.
Carly Lefton, 12, practices starts on one of the few warm days during the Winter Track season. She competed in three events at the Capital University High School Invite- the 60 meter dash, 200 meter dash, and the 800 meter relay. Three events were a common number among the members of the small team.
Photo courtesy of McDaniel’s Photography.

“The competition was fierce. You have to know your abilities as well as the other teams’ abilities in order to go out and do your best,” said Jeremiah Hunter, 10.

If an athlete is scatter-brained or anxious before a race, his or her performance normally decreases in quality. The team did its best to minimize this possibility by loudly chanting, “Yes! Yes!” as their teammates rounded the curves of the track.

“I was surprised we did so well, especially in the 1600 meter relay and the 800 meter relays. We have such a small team, so everyone runs multiple events, yet we still did really well,” said Michael Heyn, 10.

Highlights of the meet include:

–          A first place finish in the 3200 meter run by Rose Menyhert, 11

–          A third place finish by the girl’s 1600 meter relay including Katherine Vorpe, 10, Ali Garcia, 10, Lisa Ruffin, 11, and Rachel Haupt, 10

–          A first place finish in the girl’s 3200 meter relay including Lisa Ruffin, 11, Ali Garcia, 10, Rose Menyhert, 11, and Katherine Vorpe, 10

–          Ronnie Williams, 12, placed third in the 200 meter dash

–          Kyria Graves, 10, finished third in the 3200 meter run

–          Jamar Hunter, 12, Clarence Dawson, 10, Brendan Archer, 9, and Jeremiah Hunter, 10, of the boy’s 800 meter relay team finished first

–          The boy’s 1600 meter relay team, including Nathan Gregg, 12, Ryan Stoneberger, 12, Jeremiah Hunter, 10, and Brendan Archer, 9, finished third

–          The boy’s 3200 meter relay team, including Adam Lucken, 11, Mitch Singstock, 10, Martin Gonzalez, 10, and Kevin Lawson, 9, placed third

The competition took place on Sun., Feb.23, beginning with field events at 10:00 am and ending with the 1600 meter relay at 8:00 pm. The team arrived back at SHS at 10:30 pm- a long day, especially with school the next morning.

“I didn’t like getting home as late as we did, but it was important to stay and cheer for my teammates in the last few events,” said Abigail Sadler, 10.

The next meet will be at the Arnold Classic at the Ohio State University on Mar. 1. The competition is in preparation for the Indoor State Meet for qualifiers.