As the spring sports season begins, the Girls Track team welcomes a new season of Outdoor Track. The girls leading the team this season include senior captains Abby Schwartz, Emma Cheng, Sadie Bauer, and Wiktoria Sadowska. Now that the team has officially begun their season with scrimmages and meets, they have several hopes for the upcoming months.
When asked about their goals for the spring season, Emma said, “My goal is for the team to train hard and for their work to pay off at Queens Borough Champs. I also hope the team continues to bond with and motivate one another as we finish off the year.” Wiktoria said, “I’m currently injured so I’m not running but a goal I have is to hopefully run at least one more race my senior season. As for the team, my goal is for them to push themselves and have fun.”
Although track is a sport that runs all year long, its spring season has many unique characteristics. Sophomore Kimberly Pareja said, “Something special about outdoor track is definitely the amount of events it has to offer compared to indoor, such as steeplechase.” A newer member to the team, freshman Natalia Piszczatowski said, “One thing I realized about outdoor track, versus indoor track, is that outdoor track has a way better change of scenery. Rather than staring at the same old walls of the armory track, we get to travel to different schools, compete with our friends, and enjoy the greatness of fresh air.”
The spring season holds great significance for seniors because it will be their last season on the team. Sadie said, “All three seasons have their attributes, but what is special about outdoor is that it’s the team’s last season after spending the whole year becoming closer and working hard. By now the whole team has become such a strong and bonded community, making this season even more special and promising.” Wiktoria said, “I think it is more special than indoor season because I enjoy it more and it is also the last season, which can be bittersweet. I also think since it is the last season after training all year everyone does really well and gets many PR’s throughout the season.”
The captains have had several months to improve their leadership skills and they now hope to continue improving the team dynamic before they leave. Abby said, “Looking back at the previous seasons I know that even though we’ve had so many hard practices, it all paid off and all of the fun memories with the team made it worth it so I want to be able to encourage the team and help them push through hard workouts and just have fun in the future while still putting in the hard work.” Wiktoria said, “Being captain has been a really good experience and I enjoy being able to be there for my teammates. It also made me push myself harder to try and be a better role model.”
Lastly, the team believes that there is still much work needed to be done to improve even more this outdoor track season. Many want to improve on their speed and shorten their time. Junior Lelaina Madrazo said, “I’m hoping to improve on my 800m time and endurance, as well as beat my personal records in my other events. Sophomore Stephanie Martinez said, “An improvement I wish to make this season is learning how to control the way I tense up my shoulders during sprinting.” The team hopes to have success in several meets this year and hopefully, secure a win in the Queens Boroughs Championships.
