With the final meet of the year taking place on March 31 and June 1 at Lynchburg, the spring track season ended with three new records and several team honors.
Sprints
According to coach Chris Hefty, there have been many achievements from sprinters like Matt Thone, Micah Wollam and more, with many runners earning personal records (PRs).
“I’ve PRd in every one of my events,” Freshman Micah Wollam said. Micah is currently ranked seventh in the state for 300 meter hurdles out of freshman. He is also ranked tenth in the state for 400 meter for freshmen.
According to Hefty, there have been injuries with sprinters that caused people to have to sit out at meets, but the team worked around it. “When you have injuries in your top guys, it requires the younger guys to step up and learn really quickly. It’s a double edged sword, it sucks to lose anyone, it sucks to lose your top guys, but it presents an opportunity for younger runners to get the good experience,” Hefty said.
Hurdles
The hurdlers also achieved many PRs at meets. According to hurdlers coach Daniel Richardson, the weather presented a challenge this season, with most of the big meets adversely affected by weather. “We managed to make it work,” Richardson said. “All the hurdlers were committed to the improvement of their craft.”
Throwing
The throwers have accomplished a lot this season as well. According to throws coach James Carr, despite injuries involving top throwers including Chase Kibble and Jeremiah Davis, there were some great throwers this year. Carr named several standout throwers this season: Chris Duellman, Brandon Picarillo, Emma Bartels, and Allison Mallow were noted for each setting personal records.
“To me that’s what is important, It’s not necessarily where they end as far as regions or states, it’s the fact that they improved throughout the year and they have all improved,” Carr said. “We have a really big team this year so it’s great to see all of the participation. We have a lot of new people with some really good talent. This season I’ve gotten a PR in both shot and discus so that’s pretty good for me,” Senior Tristan Stansbury said.
Distance
Distance track has been exceeding expectations this year. Despite typical injuries, the team managed. “Our distance team is doing really well. We have a really young squad, I’m the only senior distance guy. We have three or four of the top ten freshmen in 4a which is our division for two miles. We have the number one, number three, and eight and ten for class four. We have a lot of potential in the future,” senior Blake Conner said. Some achievements include Fallon Fetterolf beating the record for the two mile run, Michael Tafe getting a top ten time on the two mile run, and more.
“In track, you’re not really performing against each other, you are performing against yourself. As long as our kids are PRing, almost every meet we have a bunch of kids PRing. That means I’m very proud and appreciate the work they are putting in, and we’re getting better,” Carr said.
States Achievements
Sophomore Kalie Brown, Fetterolf, senior Margot O’Brien, junior Esther Paul, junior Joe Tafe, Micheal Tafe, and Thorne all qualified for the recent state meet.
In regards to the boys, Thorne ran a 11.24 on the 100m, as well as a 23.51 on the 200m. Micheal Tafe ran 3200m with a time of 9:25 minutes. The other boys running got exceptional times as well.
For the girls, Fetterolf ran 1600m with a time of 5:13, and the 3200m with a time of 11:08 which is 3rd in the state. The other girls did exceptional in their respective events as well.
The distance 4×8 girls team, which consists of Fetterolf, O’Brien, Brown, and Esther Paul also qualified for the state meet. At regions, on May 22, the team raced and qualified with a time of 10:04 minutes, and raced at the state meet on May 31. They achieved a time of 9:54 minutes at states.
“I started the season off injured, and I was able to come back. I wouldn’t say my times improved as much as I would’ve liked, but I’ve become mentally stronger,” O’Brien said. When mentioning her teammates, O’Brien said: “They are amazing teammates and people, I can’t wait to see what they accomplish in the next few years.”
