Boom! The cannon goes off on March 18 at the first track meet of the season. Junior Elizabeth Hansen starts running her 800 meter dash where she places 12th at Chantilly High School.
The spring track team has been consistent throughout the years with multiple athletes qualifying for states and regionals in the 2022 through the 2024 seasons. In 2022 the team had 12 athletes qualify and place at states in Newport News, Virginia as well as two who made it to New Balance nationals in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. In the 2024 season, 17 athletes qualified for states with four making all state honors and four going to Nike, New Balance, and Adidas nationals.
Junior Katherine Graham has been on track since freshman year. At her last meet of the 2024 season, she placed in ninth in the women’s shot put open, during the first meet of this season, she placed in third.
“In order to stay consistent in my training over this year and last year, I have made it a priority to dedicate specific time between seasons to practice on my own,” Graham said, “Whether that be over break, over the weekend or after school, this individual practice allows me to keep my personal progress in check during the off-season.”
Senior Eubin Kim stays consistent throughout the seasons by showing discipline every practice. At her last track meet in 2024 she placed 15th in the women’s 1600 run and at her first track meet of this season she placed first in the women’s 4×400 meter relay.
“Showing up to practice and putting in all my effort has definitely contributed to my improvement,” Kim said.
Encouragement from the team also played a big role in their continental success. Hansen says this is what has motivated her the most. At her last meet of the season she came in fifth place in the 4×800 meter relay and at her first one of this season she came in third.
“Without your teammates, you’re never going to be able to improve,” Hansen said. “The people around you and who support you are very important.”
They have been working all season towards making it to states and placing well. They had the Concord District Mega Meet on April 2 where Ian Fisher and Apria Smith both qualified for states and three others qualified for regionals. CHS also placed first as a team for both boys, scoring 68 points, and girls, scoring 102 points.
The spring track team had a meet on April 23 at Westfield High School, where five athletes came in first in their events. Rhea Stewart, Jacqueline Bullock and Trent Saben and Adhivik Vinodh and they had a meet on April 26 at home where four relay teams came in first along with Lauren Lattaze, Jacqueline Bullock, Ian Fisher, Trent Saben and Chris Hwong. They have the Nike invitational meet on May 3 at South Lakes High School and the Concorde invitational meet on May 7 at home.
