by Adam Rabinowitz
Girls’ track and field, 6-0, is having another successful season thus far.
According to senior Casey Pollard, a captain with seniors Adrianna Batista, Melissa Hurwitz, and Isabella Reilly, it was hard for the team to become successful.
“We’ve had lots of new girls, and so it’s been really hard especially in the beginning. It was very chaotic and we had to get everything organized,” she said.
However once they got things going, she added that the team has performed really well. “Where we are right now it just an incredible place. We’ve had a lot of success and we have all became really close with each other,” she said.
Batista added that with this huge team, everyone gets to benefit, even those on the JV team.  Teams are only allowed to have one varsity heat running races. In JV, however, there is no limit, and this allows all new runners to get experience.
“We have so many girls running the 100. There’s heats and heats of us running the 100. The JV girls are running and everyone is cheering so loud for them even though they are JV. They are just cheering because they want them to do well,” she said.
For a team so big, and in a sport so heavily influenced by individual performance, Pollard highlights cheering as one of the team’s strengths.
“One of the biggest things for us is definitely cheering. That’s one of the ways that we tie this into being a team sport. You are there for your team even if you aren’t participating,” she said,” she said.
With that cheer comes energy. “All of that spirit and energy on a team is a lot to handle, but when you can focus that energy into running those girls get out there and kick butt in their races and against their competitors,” Pollard said.
Reilly added that the team lost 7-8 key seniors last year due to graduation, but that the Tigers are not letting that hurt their performance.
“Losing those seniors was tough, but the girls are really stepping it up, and many are rising to the occasion,” she said.
Batista added that the team’s goal for the season is to work on consistency.
“Being a jumper and doing field events leads to it being really hard to be consistent with each jump. You really need to work on that consistency throughout practice, especially with running events. Not a lot of girls are consistent at the moment, and we need to get better at it,” she said.
The team’s next big meet is the Division 1 States meet May 30, where the team is looking to repeat past success.