Girls Track Kicks Off Indoor Season with Victory at Jim McKay Games
The girls track team earned first place out of 22 teams at the Jim McKay Games. Photo: John Ellis
By SIBYL ZHENG
The girls track team claimed victory at the Jim McKay Games on December 3, their first indoor meet of the season, placing first out of 22 teams with 74 points.
The meet was just one of several memorable moments from the season so far. “We’ve fought through so much in these races,” said sprinter Christina Cen ‘25. “We cheered ‘til we lost our voices, and that really bonded our team.”
“Every moment we spend together is one you can't simply forget,” said Captain Kayla McCloud ‘23.
Many people are surprised to learn there’s a lot more to track than just running.
“People always exclude the field aspect of it,” said McCloud. “There’s throwing, jumping, hurdling, and different components that can cater to each and every individual.”
For example, race walking. “Picture walking extremely fast, but with the rule that one foot always has to have contact with the ground, and the leading leg and leg pushing off must be straight every time,” said racewalker Nicole Liu ’24. “It’s a much harder event than people may believe, with the event being 1500 meters long.”
The girls have also participated in pole vault, long jump, high jump, shot put, weight throw, javelin, and relay events.
“In relays, four people from your team are running in the race; you each run the same distance and you keep passing the baton on until it reaches the last runner,” said Cen. “It’s a big teamwork race basically smashed together.”
The physical demands of track can be intense, starting with practice. The team works out at Midwood Field, Central Park, Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx, and Blink Fitness, said Head Coach Mr. Randall Joseph.
In a typical practice, “we start off with a warm-up run, then we do warm-up exercises, and then we start our actual workout,” said Cen. “It’s different for different runners on the team, but I do short sprints and usually end off with a strong 200 meter.” The girls practice until dark, usually arriving home past 8 p.m.
“We try getting a lot of sleep before meets, and Coach makes us do pretty hard workouts on the week of meets to prepare us,” said Cen. “But the day before, he lets us rest, to get our body ready.”
“We usually just give each other a big pep talk and talk about the bagels we’re about to eat after the race,” said Cen, laughing.
“I always tell people that when it comes to this sport, there isn’t just one obstacle in the way,” said McCloud. “Time consumption, travel, and the pain the girls have to work through” are at the top of the list.
“Having pains every day and injuries can be difficult,” said Liu. “Especially when all you want to do is to be able to perform your best.”
Track is a mental challenge as well as a physical one. “It’s a lot of mental strain,” said middle-distance runner Belinda Yong ’23. “When you're running, you just want to go home.”
“Balancing my grades and social life” with the sport is a struggle, Cen said, “because practice takes up most of my time.”
However, the team is able to overcome these difficulties with its strong sense of interconnectedness. “The places we practice and our meets are really far away, so we have a lot of travel time together,” which leads to lots of team bonding, Yong said.
“Sometimes we just start singing songs together,” Liu said. “And people on our team like to bake, so it’s always fun whenever people bring stuff in to share. Our favorites are cookies and brownies.”
“This sport has blessed me in ways I could not begin to think I’d ever achieve,” said McCloud. “I love that I get to run and compete. It’s also strengthened me mentally and physically. But if I had to top it off, one of my favorite things about this sport is meeting my teammates. We’ve become more than just a team, but a family.”