Track and Field Sprints into New Season

Athletes make their final dash to the finish line, pushing themselves to their limits with adrenaline pumping through their veins. After delays caused by COVID-19 in previous years, Track and Field was glad to finally return to normal.

Art/Photo by Sullivan Kolakowski

Athletes make their final dash to the finish line, pushing themselves to their limits with adrenaline pumping through their veins. After delays caused by COVID-19 in previous years, Track and Field was glad to finally return to normal.

Cyrilla Zhang, Editor-in-Chief
March 8, 2022

   Run, jump, and throw! February 23 marked Track and Field’s very first home meet where West High’s athletes went up against El Segundo. Students participated in a large variety of events including pole vault, hurdles, long jump, discus, and more.

    As the spring athletics season rolls around, many sports are showing off the fruits of their hard work and preparation, and Track and Field is no exception. At meets like these, athletes can put all their training into action and push to run faster, jump higher, and throw farther. Lily Ball (12), a varsity runner in the 4 × 400-meter relay, also ran the 800-meter for her first time this season. She was “slightly nervous going into [her] 800 race,” as she “didn’t know what to expect.” Nonetheless, Ball was satisfied with her results: “I was really proud of myself for this race since I got my personal record.” 

   This year, Ball hopes to gain a qualifying mile time for the highly competitive Arcadia meet. “Only a handful of West athletes have gotten the chance to compete there,” she explained. “It’s been a goal of mine for three seasons, and I’m really close to finally achieving it this year.”

   Many students in Track and Field come from Cross Country to continue running competitively throughout the entire school year. For Daniel Oh (10), the transition from Cross Country to Track helped him discover that he was “much better at short-distance running than long-distance.” Though currently injured, Oh hopes to improve his times for the 100-meter and 400-meter dash.

   After a long afternoon of competition, West High pulled through with a 46.66–67.33 loss for girls’ varsity, 51–39 win for girls’ frosh, 64–53 loss for boys’ varsity, and a 74–43 win for boys’ frosh. Despite the losses, many students were still happy with their performance. Although he couldn’t run, Oh reflected, “I was still excited and nervous for my teammates and was really happy with how they ran.”

   With many meets left for the year’s Track and Field season, its members looked forward to more successes in the future!