The middle of May is the most important time of year for the outdoor track team. The heat, the pressure, and the competition of all the high schools in the MIAA/IAAM Conference come out to challenge each other. Students run the best times of their careers here, and breaking records is not uncommon.
This two-day event is filled with nail-biting moments, frantic parents, and athletes who have worked all season to seek vengeance on their biggest competitors by out-running, out-jumping, or out-throwing them.
The events began Wednesday, May 13 at Calvert Hall College High School, host of the outdoor championships. The girls’ team set the tone early with a second place finish in the 4×800 meter relay behind McDonogh. Sophomore Elizabeth Tauber, part of the 4×800 team, earned her second silver medal of the championships in the 3200 meter run in a time of 11:40.
The second day of the meet on Saturday, May 16 consisted of the 1600 meter run, the 800 meter run, the 4×200 meter relay, and the 4×400 meter relay. Senior Melissa Vinton shocked the competition, finishing second in the 800 meter run with a personal best time of 2:28.
Ian Richardson entered the 800 meter run as one of the favorites, qualifying second overall. During the race on Saturday, Richardson was boxed in early and was unable to make up the lead of first place finisher Phil August of Mt. St. Joseph’s. Richardson finished with a personal best and a new school record of 1:59.4.
“The one guy who stepped it up the most was Ian Richardson. He worked very hard over the course of the year and it paid off by him becoming one of the best middle distance runners in the MIAA,” said coach Rob Torres.
Richardson was not the only one who stepped up in track this year. “Other guys that made a big impact on the team were Dan Smith in the jumps and hurdles, Brian Hunt and Tyler Boyd in sprints, Ben Pickett, Chris Kunkel, and Dan Gallen in distance, and Jimmy Schultz in pole vault and throws,” said Torres.
Tauber backed up her 3200 meter performance with an impressive 5:24 1600 meter run, good for fourth place. Freshman Ben Pickett recorded personal bests in both the 1600 and 3200 with times of 4:42 and 10:13, respectively. Fellow freshman Taylor Battaglia joined Pickett in the double, running times of 5:50 and 12:43 for the girls.
One of the biggest surprises of the girls’ team was sophomore Amanda Hudak’s performance in the 800 meters and the 1600 meters. Hudak spent most of the season under the radar, but had her breakout performance at championships qualifying for the 800 finals on Wednesday before setting a personal record on Saturday with a ninth-place finish in 2:34 in the 800. Earlier in the day, Hudak had finished third in her heat of the 1600, good for twelfth place overall in a time of 5:38, also a personal best.
In the girls’ triple jump, junior Alesia Etinoff finished fourth with a length of 32 feet. For the boys’ triple jump, senior Dan Smith placed tenth with a jump of 39 feet. Etinoff also partook in the long jump and 100 meter hurdles. Smith similarly did the long jump.
The performance of the girls’ team led to a third place finish behind champion McDonogh and Seton Keough and the boys’ team finished ninth in the 15-team MIAA. During the season, the girls’ team finished with a 5-4 record in the IAAM ‘A’ Conference, and the boys finished 5-3 in the MIAA ‘B’ Conference.
“For the number of guys we had, I’m proud of how the guys did this season. There was improvement throughout from the veterans, and we had some new guys who showed a lot of potential,” said Torres. The girls similarly impressed their coach. “Like the guys, I’m proud of how the girls did this season. We had an excellent senior class, and the freshmen look like one of the better freshmen classes I’ve ever seen since I’ve been at JC,” said Torres.
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