Going into the final league dual meet of the season at home against Alemany on Thursday, the girls’ track team boasts a 4-0 dual meet league record, while the boys maintain a 3-2 record.
The girls’ undefeated record means that regardless of Thursday’s outcome, they have taken first place in the Mission League for the fourth year in a row.
“Being undefeated this season makes me feel really proud to be part of such a special program,” Danielle Spitz ’18 said. “I think the team’s success is a reflection of how hard we have worked this season. When Coach [Jonas Koolsbergen] needs us to step up, everybody is willing to do whatever it takes to help out the team.”
Because the Wolverine and Warrior boys both have 3-2 records, whoever wins Thursday’s meet will clinch third place in the league.
“We will approach the Alemany meet just like every other: training not only our endurance and speed but also the technical aspects of our specific events,” Phillip Smith ’15 said. “As a whole, I think we’ve performed very well this year, despite injuries and the losses of some key guys.”
Both the boys and the girls have winning records despite having lost multiple players to injury. Francesca Walker ’16, Lexi Scher ’17, Mila Barzdukas ’15 and Imani Cook-Gist ’15 have all missed significant action for the girls. For the boys, Jack Stovitz ’16, Smith and Gabriel Jenkinson ’16 have also lost playing time.
“As a whole, I think injuries and dedication were serious issues,” Jenkinson said. “A lot of key members were injured this year, and we had a few members quit mid-season.”
The girls are coming off of a 62-60 victory over the Knights last Thursday. The Knights could have won the meet in the 4×100-meter relay, worth five points, but were disqualified because of a handoff violation.
“Going undefeated thus far is extra special because at this point we’ve gone undefeated my entire high school career,” Alexandria Florent ’15 said. “Even though we’ve already won league, I’m hoping that we can go into the Alemany meet with the same mindset that we go into every other meet with, so we can finish what we started.”
While the girls only narrowly defeated Notre Dame, the boys were clobbered, losing 100-27.
“Despite a rather hefty loss to Notre Dame, the team is feeling good and is looking forward to Alemany,” Mason Rodriguez ’18 said. “We did our best against the teams that beat us and, as a result, we’ve reconciled our losses. Looking back, I really couldn’t think of anything that the team as a whole could have done better.”
Even in a blowout loss, the Wolverines did have a few individual victories. Alex Barnum ’16 won the 200-meter, and Stovitz won the 3,200-meter. Adam Knapp-Wachsner ’15 was also victorious in the long jump. Notre Dame won an impressive 12 of the 15 scored events.
After Thursday’s meet, the Wolverines move into Mission League Preliminaries and Finals the following week.
“Since we are so far into the season, rest is the biggest thing,” Branden Kim ’15 said. “Letting our bodies recover is crucial so that we are able to compete to the best of our ability. Even though we lost a few key members of the team, we have been training hard.”
Later in May, qualified individuals from both teams will compete in CIF Preliminaries in order to qualify for CIF Finals, where the girls’ team will strive to defend their 2014 CIF Southern Section Division III championship.
“Everyone has worked really hard this season, and it’s amazing to see that all of the hard work has paid off,” Lauren Jones ’16 said.
