Track & Field Successes!
By Elizabeth Forbes, Linden Teacher, and Coach
Senior School
Well, you really couldn’t beat the day we had at the SR SSAF track and field championships on May 4, 2018. It really was a coach's dream day. The vibe was perfect — our athletes had a quiet confidence about them, paired with some loud team spirit cheering. This resulted in personal best performances (both from a measurable standpoint as well as a personal growth element). Words I heard the girls use to describe themselves and their teammates included: impressive, gritty, fighter, patient, strong form, surprising, personally satisfied, fulfilled, exhausted, went for it, pushed to my max, pumped ... and the list goes on.
We had many athletes taking risks by trying events that were new to them this year to help fill gaps in our team registration (small school challenges), and I couldn’t have been more thrilled to see how they approached each task. We also had many first-time track and field athletes on the team. Even with so many rookies and firsts, we set our sights on challenging team goals and chased them to our best ability — and our best today was seriously impressive. When we cued to dig deeper, they dug deeper. When we cued patience or calm, they found that zone. When we were just about to cue something as coaches, our athletes and their teammates beat us to the punch and responded accordingly on their own or from encouragement from a teammate.
Outstanding Results:
U16 team: 2nd! Just 2 points short of the championship banner win (Julianna, Edie, Halley, Lucia, Ellen, Emma)
U20 team: 2nd! (Ava, Julia G, Laura, Rachel, Sophia E, Liana)
Event Standings Amongst 13 Competing Schools:
U16 3000m: Juliana 1st
U16 1500m: Lucia/Juliana 1st/3rd
U16 100m: Edie/ Emma in finals
U20 100m: Sofia 3rd
U16 200m: Ellen 2nd
U20 200m: Sophia 3rd
U20 standing Long Jump: Rachel 1st
U20 1500m: Liana/Rachel 2nd/3rd
U16 Triple Jump: Lucia/Edie 2nd/3rd
U20 400m: Liana 3rd
U20 Triple Jump: Julia 2nd
U16 Relay: Silver (Edie, Emma, Ellen, Lucia)
U20 Relay: Bronze (Rachel, Julia, Laura, Sophia)
Junior and Middle School
On May 11, 2018, our junior and middle school students enjoyed yet another wonderful day at the track. The team showed maturity beyond their years in their approach to the HUGE meet (over 30 schools in attendance) and the multiple delays in the schedule. They supported each other, ran with openness to see what they could do, jumped with confidence and solid technique, and cheered, cheered, cheered!
We are very proud of each of the athletes for their effort, attitude, and excellent performance. Watching our athletes in action— they represent our school so well through their words and actions, and grow in their own athletic and personal journey through risk-taking—is nothing short of inspiring.
Outstanding Results:
Triple Jump: Hannah, 3rd
100m: Kieran, 4th
Long Jump: Alison, 6th
100m: Inty, 2nd
Long Jump: Serena, 3rd
Grade 7–8 Relay Team: 2nd (Amina, Kieran, Serena, Inty)
