After just three total meets, the track and field team has had more meet cancellations than normal this year. These cancellations had unique impacts which affected each team member diffrently. The weather plays a big role in the performance of each and every sport. For optimal performance, weather must be in the best possible condition for athletes. This month, there were six meets scheduled for the team, unfortunately, due to weather on multiple occasions, many were canceled and much of the practice was forced to be held inside of the gym. However this weather allowed the team to get more practice in than originally planned, this has helped the team focus on growing and can hopefully be more prepared during future meets
“We have all been working hard on drills and in the weight room, so we should be even more ready by the time the season really gets going,” junior Aurea Hickenboth said.
Previous pole vaulting, Coach John Roebuck decided to leave Freedom and move to Riverside to train. While a new coach, Kelly Emes, stepped in to fill Roebuck’s position. As the team continues to grow and work hard, sophomore Alexis Cooper and freshman Lucas Evans continue to progress throughout the season.
“The coaches have been great with creative training to get us ready for future meets,” Hickenboth said.
As the last of the regular season comes to a close, Freedom has seen its fair share of victories from almost every event, this is especially true for running events. Seniors Shaye Bailey, Daisy Lewis, Madison Meyer and sophomore Mackenzie Mohrbacher achieved first place in the girl’s 4×100-meter relay at the Beaver County Championship on Apr. 13th. Junior Riley Tokar placed first in the 300-meter hurdles at the South Side meet on Apr. 3rd. Freedom continues to keep a steady pace as sophmore Anthony Rychorcewicz also placed first in the boy’s 800-meter dash.
“Well I think the cancellations will improve the team more because it allows us to rehab and get rest,” sophomore Anthony Rychorcewicz said.
Throwing events haven’t slowed down either as freshman Rylie Vojtko, sophomore Trinity Vojtko, junior Annabelle Komlos and senior Morgan Keller all placed top four in varsity girl’s discus throw. The boys are not far behind as several throwers place in the top five for boy’s varsity discus throw. Both boys and girls long jump dominated their competition by having four jumpers in the top five for each. Much of the track and field team believes this success has come from the addition of many practices and meet cancellations, although with so few performances it is also hard to keep track of progress and personal records. With WPIAL playoffs coming closer, everybody on the track team is ready to challenge themselves and the competition.