Rachael Albert, Junior
The MHS winter track team has had a crazy, successful year with multiple school records broken, athletes competing at the National Championship, and many great rookie performances. Both the boys’ and girls’ teams only lost one meet in the regular season, and both finished second place at the Northeastern Conference Championship. But they’re not done yet. With athletes competing in the Divisional Championships and beyond, the winter season is far from over.
With any luck, our MHS athletes will continue their success in the post-regular season, and who knows, maybe Cate Trautman will break a school record for the third time this season.
Trautman (Sr.) runs the 55m dash and the 300m dash, and she has had incredible success in both events this season, however, her most notable races are her 55s. At the Coaches Invitational meet, she ran a 7.65, breaking the school record, but then broke her own record again at the very next meet with a time of 7.62. We can’t wait to see what the rest of the season holds for her. Close on Trautman’s heels is Ava Machado (Soph.) with a 7.63 55m time, which is incredible, and that time will only continue to drop.
The 4x200m teams (both boys and girls) have also proven their worth this season. The girls 4×200 team, consisting of Cate Trautman, Ava Machado, Devin Whalen (Sr.), and Clarie Davis (Sr.), have also taken the school title this season with a time of 1:48.18. This is the second year the team has qualified for Nationals, but only the first year they are able to go. The boys 4×200 team includes Harrison Curtis (Sr.), Sebastian Pantzer (Sr.), Thomas Carlson (Soph.), and Ryan Thompson (Sr.). Their fastest race this season was a brisk 1:34.17, qualifying them for the State Championship meet. The 4×200 is one of the few events that is in both indoor and outdoor track, so these teams will have another season this year to perfect their race.
Two athletes worth mentioning are Sadie Halpern and Lillian Reddy (both freshmen), who have both knocked out their rookie seasons. Though age should not determine a person’s skill level, it is amazing how much these two have excelled in their respective events with the little experience they have. Sadie Halpern is right up there with our best 55m sprinters with a time of 7.73, and Lillian Reddy has become the top shot put thrower on the team with a distance of 29’ 10”. Being a shot putter myself I am biased, but it is incredible to see how good Reddy has gotten in this short period of time, considering how technical an event throwing is.
This season has been filled with many great races, throws, jumps, and moments because of our wonderful athletes and coaches. There is more success to come, and I can’t wait for the spring season to see what else the team has in store for us. We’ll be back, running under the sun (and rain) to see what other records we can break.