Carlmont High School had a very subdued performance at the Aragon track meet on Thursday, April 18.
Many of the Carlmont athletes were selected for the invitational Top 8 Meet on Friday, April 19, so they conserved their energy in order to make sure that they performed their best at the invitational meet.
The Top 8 Meet is a collaboration of the top athletes in the school region, and these athletes are qualified based upon their time, not position.
For instance, an athlete can come in third or fourth place, yet still have a fast enough time to qualify for the Top 8 Meet.
Many of the Carlmont athletes were in a reflective state of mind, as sophomore Austin Driver stated, “For my event, the long jump, I do squats in order to strengthen my legs. I do track because I know that I’m talented and I need the high school credits. For the long jump final of the PAL Junior Varsity Invitational Meet, if I scratch (do a jump that violates the rules) I’ll lose. If I don’t scratch, I’ll win the event.”
In preparation for the Top 8 Meet, sophomore Nick Korjeff looked back upon why he loves running. “Running is a rush. I love the feeling of adrenaline one gets before running. I like to challenge myself against the best athletes from the other schools, in order to figure out how good of an athlete I am.”
Unfortunately, for many Carlmont athletes, running is a fleeting experience that they haven’t done in a while.
Carlmont’s track squad was severely depleted, as shown by Aragon’s utter dominance in the 100 meter sprint (there only were three Carlmont athletes combined in all the different age groups) and in many races it was Aragon athletes competing against themselves.
Sophomore Catherine Schulze was secretly relieved that she didn’t have to run today, as she stated, “I just get really nervous before every race. It’s just a really scary experience for me. However, during the race I get in my zone and pretend that there’s no one else around me.”
Sophomore Oliver Surovell used this meet as an opportunity to rest. “I have a pretty bad back injury, so I’m going to take this week off and then hopefully return to running next week.”
Clearly, Carlmont High School track and field team has a hopeful eye on the future, and the athletes hope they can sprint past their individual goals in the meets that count.
