The girls’ track team attended the Pete Heimsath Invitational on Saturday at Batavia High School. The girls placed 2nd overall out of nine schools with a combined score of 135.
The meet began with field events. Junior Cornesha Cannady and junior Ella Vacek competed in high jump placing 2nd and 3rd overall respectively. Cannady said that being confident before each jump allows her to be ready to go.
“My mindset before [each jump] is basically that I can do it. Any height I just know that I can do it,” Cannady said.
Senior Alex Salinas competed in pole vault where she placed 6th with a season record of 2.52 meters. She said that technique was the most important part the coaches stressed on her.
“I was really stressed out because I wasn’t making any, but after a while the coaches were able to calm me down, and I was able to get over my last height, Salinas said.“Calming down and doing what I do at practice and really trusting my training is really what they say to me.”
Sophomore Kenna Norde placed 3rd overall in long jump with a personal record of 5.15 meters. She said that being focused and determined helped with her success.
“I try not to focus on other people, and I ended up getting a personal best,” Norde said.
The Wolves are six weeks into the season and have shown much improvement according to coach Steven Ideran. He said that performing the way they practice is a very important element.
“A lot of it is finding ways to do the same things that we’re doing in a controlled environment and trusting their training, and ultimately having fun,” Ideran said.
“We have a really great group of girls. We are so close. We’re always there to pick each other up and help each other out. We’re always there cheering each other on as much as we can for each race.”
— junior Angela Goduto
The Wolves also placed in many of the running events.
Junior Emily Salmeron competed in the 4×800 relay with her team placing 2nd. She said that relying on her team and building chemistry was very important in their success.
“We started out really fast and worked as a team,” Salmeron said. “We all rely on each other, because it is very team based.”
Senior Morgan Ede placed 1st overall in the 1600 meter race with a time of five minutes and 27 seconds. In the lead for much of the race, she said that she was looking for a pace for five minutes and 20 seconds.
“I actually thought it would be me and one other girl up there running together but as the race unfolded I was kinda up there by myself so I was just trying to run hard and get a good time,” Ede said.
Freshman Naima Morris placed 4th in the 55 meter hurdle event with a personal record of 9.8 seconds. She stressed technique was very important for her throughout the race.
“I keep thinking about my start counting my steps, making sure my trail leg is going over each hurdle at a time,” Morris said. “It’s a lot of consistency and it’s a lot of footwork.”
Junior Angela Goduto also said that building relationships and chemistry with one another has been a key to their success.
“We have a really great group of girls, we are so close. We’re always there to pick each other up and help each other out,” Goduto said. “We’re always there cheering each other on as much as we can for each race.”
The girls’ next track meet is on Wednesday at Plainfield East. Head Coach Connor Downs said that the most important thing for the team is improving each and every meet.
“There’s always just a common theme of going out and making a personal best,” Downs said. “I don’t care about their place. I don’t care about the team score. I want them to show steady improvement throughout the meet and the season.”
Andrew Le is a staff writer for Oswego East High School’s online news magazine the Howl