On Feb. 17, the Girls Track team ran at George Jenkins High School against 19 other teams. They were able to win the meet with a total score of 116, with the second place team, Auburndale, earning 87 points, and the third place team, IMG Academy, earning 82 points.
Some of the events that stood out included a couple of the field events. Seniors Ashlyn Ludovici and Jennifer Texeira were able to get second and third place in the pole vault with a height of ten feet six inches, winning the event for Steinbrenner. Junior Harmony Shellman jumped a just under five feet in the High Jump, while her teammate junior Camila Denker was at about four feet ten inches. They both set a PR, or personal record, and got the team second place in that event.
The warriors were also able to score big in the track events. Junior Sarah Magee was one athlete who stood out, breaking the school record as well as her own in the two mile, with a time of 11:32 minutes. She was second place, losing only to Plant City High School. The previous school record in that distance had been 11:33 minutes, set by her teammate senior Sophie Piniella the previous Wednesday.
“Sophie’s was a 45 second PR, and then Sarah’s was a 48 second PR. So it was kind of like, you know, they came into a big meet, and they just felt really good, and competed,” said R. Ladd Baldwin, head coach of the team.
Sophmore Ken’naria Gadson also stood out, getting second place in the 400 meter race with a time of 56 seconds, and winning the event with her teammates Natalie Brown, who placed fourth, and junior Giovanna Mallicote, who placed sixth. Ken’naria ran well in the 200 meter race too, winning first place overall and the event as a whole with teammates sophmore Zayne Jack and senior Serena Gadson.
Overall, the trace was a success, with Steinbrenner winning the meet, as well as giving the athletes a chance to get used to the George Jenkins track, which is where the Regions meet is held.
“To me, the field event people are the ones that usually get the most out of it,” said Baldwin. “For them to be able to go over there, get on that runway, jump on that pit, get comfortable with their surroundings, knowing that their goal would be to come back in a couple months and try to make it to state.”
After a victory at George Jenkins High School, the girls look forward to the rest of their season, where they hope to continue to prevail.
Nicholas Sowell // Co-Sports Editor
