He powers through the finish line, his heart pounding through his chest. His intense stare is replaced by a wide grin as he looks to the scoreboard. A new school record is made, one of six all time records broken by the track and field team this year.
“[The records] say a lot about the contagious work ethic of the team,” track and field head coach Pouyan Assadi said.
Assadi said the team’s success started in the offseason.
“When we came out in the preseason and had over 40 runners show up every single day, I knew we were going to do big things this year,” Assadi said. “My expectations were high, but they’ve still exceeded them,”
Track captain senior Caroline Taylor said the consistent work they put in led to the records.
“We train every day, no matter the weather or time and that consistency is so important. All of our coaches really believe in us, so to see these records get broken isn’t exactly surprising to be honest,” Taylor said.
Assadi said the leadership from the captains was a major part of their success.
“[The captains] have set an amazing example. They’re incredibly hardworking and dedicated, as well as amazing athletes. The younger athletes definitely see that and follow them,” Assadi said.
Taylor said she agreed about the importance of the captains this year.
“As a captain I can draw on my past experiences and show how doing the training and trying my best really does play off in the end. That motivational factor is super important in helping these young athletes believe in themselves because some of them are really talented,” Taylor said.
Assadi said the amount of records the team broke this year surprised him.
“Most strong track programs should be breaking around three records a year,” Assadi said. “What makes this year so special, of course we have a large number of records, but it’s the diversity of them that’s surprising. There are records across essentially all parts of the team, girls and boys, throwing, running, hurdles, relays; everyone has had success.”
Taylor said she thinks the track program will continue to have success in the coming years.
“[The future] is so strong. The whole team is going to do really good things, and records are going to continue to be broken. I’m excited to see what they can do,” Taylor said.
Assadi said the track and field program now has a lot of momentum.
“It’s clear the snowball is going downhill and keeps getting bigger,” Assadi said. “We just need to keep the culture and keep having fun. We have some really talented people across grade level and we just need to keep bringing that out.
Records:
- Senior Sam Shelby 200 meter may 10 22.26 seconds
- Senior Sam Shelby 100 meter March 1 11.05 seconds
- Senior Saniyah Johnson, shot put, April 2, 32’ 6.5”
- Senior Drea Martin, shot put, May 7, 34’1.5”
- Senior Miguel Long triple jump March 29 45’ 8.5”
- Sophomore Rehan Mumtaz junior Maddox Ma, senior Sam Shelby, and sophomore Eric Venner 4 by 100 meter relay, April 23, 43.15 seconds
- Senior Nia Kim 100 meter hurdle, April 26, 15.58 seconds
- Freshman Nikita Gorelik, sophomore Leighton Mand, junior Skylar Best, and senior Caroline Taylor, 4 by 800 meter relay, April 26, 9:57.27.
(According to the PHS Track and Field Official Instagram)
