The track team had a very successful spring season with several of the athletes breaking long-standing school records.
Senior Ella Steck broke the school record for the 100m with a time of 12:57. She had been attempting to break this record since her sophomore year.
Ella is relieved that she was finally able to reach her goal. She said, “I’m very blessed to have been able to accomplish this plan and to keep pushing.”
While her primary sport is soccer, she runs track in the spring. She has committed to playing soccer at Eastern Carolina University next year. Ella enjoys track because she gets to spend time with her friends and take part in new experiences.
At press time, Ella was preparing for the IAAM championships, where she was hoping to break her school record again.
She said, “In order to prepare, I’m practicing my events daily and practicing blocks and hand-offs.”
Senior Drew Evans broke the 50-year-old school record in shotput this season with a throw of 48’ 11” and said, “It feels great to break school records. I love knowing that my name will be in the school’s history.”
Drew will be attending Mount St. Mary’s University in the fall where he will be on the track team. Drew is dedicated to the sport. He goes to the gym after daily practices with the John Carroll team and trains with his coach on Sundays.
Drew loves track because “it is both a team and individual sport. . . It’s nice being able to compete for myself.”
Drew hopes to qualify for the national meet this summer. He must meet a throw a certain distance in order to qualify for this tournament.
Senior Andrew Brown broke the school record in the 3200m with a time of 9:28.88. He also broke a record in the 4x1600m. He said, “It’s a very rewarding feeling to have your name in the record books after lots of hard training.”
Andrew has committed to running both cross country and track at The United States Military Academy next year.
He enjoys “the thrill of setting a new personal best and pushing yourself past areas you never thought you could reach.”
Andrew runs 35-50 miles a week in season and 50-70 miles a week out-of-season for training. He is planning on running in a couple of national races this summer.
Track and Field coach Robert Torres has been coaching track at John Carroll for 21 seasons. He commented, “It’s great to see the success of the athletes and watch them beat some of our former standout stars of the past.” He enjoys watching athletes reach their goals.
Mr. Torres said his favorite part of coaching track is “helping athletes see the beauty of the purest sport there is.”
Coaching techniques for track vary between athletes. Mr. Torres said, “I see what they want to accomplish and do everything I can to help them get there. I also let them know when they are slipping.”
As this very successful season closed, the track team looks forward to breaking more records in future seasons.