Track Gains Speed at Home Meet
Emma Squared Pose for a Picture
May 9, 2017
On April 25, 2017, Seward High School hosted a track and field duel with Anchorage Christian School. This small yet thrilling meet featured the 1600m, 800m, 400m, 200m, 100m, 110m hurdles, 100m hurdles, 300m hurdles, distance medley relay, throwers’ relay, 4 x 200, 4 x 100, shot-put, discus, high jump, and long jump. After speaking with a few of the runners, I learned that this was a perfect meet for where they are at in their training. “Our meet, while a bit fast-paced, helped us really get into the groove of things. I think our runners will feel a lot more comfortable at the next meets,” said sophomore long-distance runner Sadie Lindquist.
Two of the most exciting events of the day were the throwers’ relay and the distance medley relay. At the beginning of the season, coach Teresa Bickling explained to the runners that relays are “the heart and soul of a track team.” Her words proved right. The throwers’ relay features the best of the throwers, and also the fastest. This week’s relay was composed of freshman Braden Lane, and seniors Eli Davis, Rhett Sieverts, and Trenten Freiberg. The first half of the race proved difficult, until, sprinting the final corner, Sieverts handed off to Freiberg. Taking the straightaway in stride, Freiberg accelerated past his ACS opponent with lightning-quick capabilities, winning the race for Seward. “The race was good coming into the last straightaway,” said Freiberg. “I was a little worried, but as soon as the shot-put entered my hand, I was sent into a zone. Nothing would distract me and as soon as I realized I crossed the finish line, I knew I had won us the race.”
The distance medley relay was the final event of the day, pulling together both sprinters and long-distance runners to form some of the strongest relay teams. The first and second runners ran 200m, the third ran 400m, and the final ran 800m. Seward pulled five teams together for this event, while ACS pulled three.
The final accomplishment of the night proved to be astounding. Sophomore Coral Petrosius broke a thirty-year school record for the high jump. Just the Friday before, she had tied the school record at 4 feet 10 inches. This week, however, she finally broke it, jumping 5 feet into the air and becoming the best high jumper to go to Seward High.
Overall, this meet proved to be riveting, as one runner after another broke records and won races.
On April 28 and 29, the track team also competed at Homer High School. There, the girls’ 4 x 400 relay won and the boys came close as well. All the runners and throwers performed excellently, and represented Seward well.
