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The Student News Site of Thomas S. Wootton High School

Common Sense

The Student News Site of Thomas S. Wootton High School

Common Sense

The Student News Site of Thomas S. Wootton High School

Common Sense

Indoor Track and Field: High expectations provide team with motivation for season

For the indoor track team, the goal is one month- February. The state championships, which will be held on Feb. 20 and 21, serve as a goal for many of the athletes on the team and are the top stage of the sport. “I would love to have at least one boy and one girl qualify for states,” coach Matthew Davis said.
The team has a couple contenders to reach states for the first time. Sprinting is the strength of the roster, as senior Steven Zou, junior Ambrose Devine and sophomore Keith Cartwright should challenge for a spot at states. Senior Troy Davis, in his first season running indoor track, is the team’s best distance runner and could advance to states in the 500-, 800-, or 1600-meter runs. Davis also hopes to put together a fearsome 4×800 meter relay on the girls’ side.
In addition to providing an opportunity for competition, indoor track is also sought after because of the conditioning it provides. “[I joined] to get faster for outdoor track and have up-tempo training,” Troy Davis said.
The team held time trials on Nov. 21, with the events being the 55-meter dash, the 300-meter dash and the 1600-meter run. On the boys’ side, Zou and Devine finished first in the 55-meter and 300-meter, respectively, while junior Ronald Wong narrowly won the 1600-meter event. Senior Shireen Chavoshi and junior Ana Scherf finished atop the standings in both of the girls’ sprinting events and sophomore Lucia Splittgerber was first in the 1600.
Though the winning times were off the standards for postseason competition, the weather was less than optimal and it was far from an all-out effort. Davis was satisfied with the results and sees a lot of potential on the roster. “I think there’s a lot of people who haven’t run before who could be pretty good,” he said.
The team faced its first competition from other schools on Dec. 3, in a scrimmage of local schools at the PG Sports and Learning Complex in Hyattsville. The Patriots excelled in the 55-meter dash, with junior Tafari Martin (third), Cartwright (fourth), and senior Nicholas Chui (fifth) all finishing in the top five. In the 300-meter event, the girls placed six girls in the top 15, led by Scherf and Chavoshi in sixth and seventh, respectively. However, not all of the athletes participated as the event was a scrimmage, not an official meet.
The team will participate in its first official meet, also at PG Sports and Learning Complex, on Dec. 6.

 

John Riker

Online Editor

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