Girls’ track looks promising for the upcoming season, and everyone seems excited about it too, with the excitement of hosting sectionals here at Bernards High for the first time. Ava Cummings, a sophomore is “excited because we are having sectionals here at our track. It is the biggest race of the year.” There are a lot of newcomers joining the team, and a lot of great seniors graduating as well. Mr. Szostak is looking forward to the season because “We have a big team and a lot of newcomers so I am excited to see how those kids develop. I am also excited to see how our seniors and veterans have improved.”
There are a lot of newcomers this year, mostly freshman but sophomores as well. Mr. Szostak, the coach hopes they “enjoy themselves, work hard, and improve”. And, there are a lot of seniors graduating, causing for mixed emotions. “We have some really good seniors that have been around for a long time. Danielle Aharoni, Taylor Murphy, Sydney Rudin, Emma Grey, Abby Kotwick, Elee Khademi, Bea Giordano, Meg Gunson, Stephanie O’brien, Theresa O’Reilly and Mathini Vaikunathan are all returning contributors so we are hoping to see them have a great season.” Says coach, Mr. Szostak. The seniors are going to miss track as well when they graduate. Meg Gunson and Bea Giordano describe their high school track experience as being “Awesome. We have been doing this for 12 seasons. There were so many good people and good times and it was a very successful team. All 4 years we have had at least 1 championship, and we did it with our best friends.”
As the upcoming season starts, the athletes are starting to prepare to do well. Bea Giordano “feels prepared because our preseason training has been going really well. It’s been hard but the effort will definitely pay off.” The team is setting many goals for the season, hoping to do well. Each athlete is setting their individual goals. Ava Cummings “would like to get a faster time in the mile and 2 mile”. Mr. Szostak is also setting team goals; “We had a really good run a few years ago when we won 4 sectionals in a row. Last year we broke that streak, I hope to get back to that level. It depends on how the lower athletes develop.”
Mr. Szostak seems to be popular among the athletes. “Mr. Szostak is an awesome man, good coach, and good teacher.” Says Ava Cummings. “He is really good and really experienced. He knows us as runners and knows exactly what to do.” Says seniors Meg Gunson and Bea Giordano. The team seems excited to face the season, in hopes they will do well.