On Mar. 23, track and field took on South Hills HS at home for their second league meet of the season, overjoyed with the new personal records they secured.
Head Coach Mike Gomez shares how the team prepared for the league race, marking the midpoint of the season.
“We had a lot of rain [this week] so we had to contend with the weather, but the kids stepped up,” Gomez said. “We did some speed workouts on the track in the rain, and we were really mindful of the work that we had to do to stay competitive.”
Additionally, Gomez elaborates on how giving attention to each individual’s paces during workouts has been so crucial to the team’s success. The main focus the coaches have is making sure their runners are hitting the goal times that will get the team far.
“The kids have goals that they have to reach in their specific events, so we try to hold them to it,” Gomez said. “They do a really good job of studying and memorizing their half-lap or lap-split times.”
Distance Coach Crystal Espinoza shares how she is proud of her team’s performances and looks forward to seeing how each athlete’s potential will be met by the end of the season.
“It has been a highlight to see such a strong start, and we know that the finish is going to be even better,” Espinoza said.
Looking on how the athletes will reach their maximum caliber, Coach Mark Fessenden shares how runners improve their competitiveness and mindsets through each workout in the days preceding each race.
“The confidence to be fierce competitors comes from having to walk up to the starting line, knowing that they have been doing all the training they need to do and that they are prepared for all the aspects of the race,” Fessenden said. “That confidence, more than anything else, comes from physical mental preparedness of knowing what they are going to do based on all of the training they have done.”
Head captain junior Bryan Ramos shares how proud he is of the comradery amongst the team this season, especially as their improvement becomes more evident as the season goes on.
“It brings me a lot of joy to be there for my teammates and train with them every day,” Ramos said. “Watching them push through those last couple laps or last couple meters of their race means everything to me. What gets us through it all is knowing that while it hurts right now, we are going to persevere together and we are going to celebrate together as a team.”
Track and field will next take on Diamond Bar HS away from home on Mar. 30.
