Spartans Host Season Opener as Track and Field Season Gets Underway
A sentiment shared from Coach Ruppert was likely on the minds of each spectator, coach, and athlete at the track Monday night. “It was cold.” That did not stop our Spartans from competing hard and putting their best foot forward. Epiphany, Fieldcrest, and Carroll Catholic made their way to our home track to start the season off strong.
Spartan 6th graders as well as many of the 7th/8th graders got their first chance at competing on their familiar surface at our Olympia track. 7th graders saw multiple opportunities to showcase their skills in their second season. 8th graders are starting their final season as middle schoolers and they look to leave their mark on this team.
When asked about the meet, Coach Neylon provided, “This meet was a good foundation for the season. There is a lot there that can be built upon and refined as the season moves forward.”
That foundation was highlighted by several strong performances across the board in all events. Specifically, we want to recognize two top performers on the track for boys and girls as well as two for the field events. These student-athletes represented the Spartans well and were rewarded with high quality marks.
In her second season on the team we saw a standout performance from one of our 7th grade distance runners. Our top girls track performer of the meet was Rachel Andris. She paced a string of Spartans in the 7th grade girls’ 800 and won in convincing fashion (3:07.33).
The boys’ side had Lucus Dixon shine in a great double with the 100 (12.43) and 4x400 leg (63). He won the 100 and helped lead off his relay to the victory. This is a promising start for his 8th grade campaign.
In the field, the girls’ team saw Sarah Cross take the win in her 7th grade discus debut. She threw 67’ 4” and showed that she will be a force with which to be reckoned.
Coach Ruppert saw great things out of our throwing group. “We were thrilled by our student-athletes who stepped up and had encouraging debuts in the throwing events.They have listened well and put in work that gets to be displayed in meets.”
For the boys’ field events, Corbin Rios opened his long jump season with a win for the 7th grade boys. His jump of 14’ 3” puts him on a good path for the season as he will fine-tune his technique and set further marks.
After the meet, Coach Bowers wanted to express her thoughts on the evening’s overall impact. “We loved the passion of our student-athletes who continually met our expectations on the track and in the field. Additionally, we had student-athletes step up and take on roles to help the meet become a success.”
Olympia’s coaching staff and athletes want to extend a great appreciation to all those that volunteered and contributed to making our first home meet of the 2019 season a success. We look forward to providing more quality meets throughout the season.
Look for one of those quality meets as our athletes compete again next Monday (4/8) at home against Dee-Mack, Pontiac, and Lexington. Go Spartans!