Track ends season with a successful stride: Why is everyone chasing me?

Last laps are soon to be run as the track team crosses the finish line to their 2015 season. The team is in the midst of preparing for CIF finals, which will occur on May 30.

Competing in CIF is a serious competitive event and MC plans to take the strongest team they can.

“Around 20 to 25 people compete,” sophomore Sara Vandenburgh said. “To get into CIF’s you need to either win your event or make the qualifying mark.”

At the recent CIF meet on May 23, the team placed fairly well despite being mostly underclassmen.

“MC won the 4×100 in the preliminaries and also in the qualifiers,” junior Chandler Oriente said.

Being on a competitive team such as track takes up a lot of time, which requires students to find a balance between academics and athletics.

“Track has taught me time management skills and discipline, while having fun,” Vandenburgh said.

Although track is hard work and involves immense amounts of focus, the members do still have fun during practice.

“My favorite memories include looking at all the pretty girls in spandex,” Oriente said.

All the dedication pays off when an individual achieves their new best time or jumps a few inches further.

“My favorite memory from the season is when I got a personal best at the Bronco Invite,” Vandenburgh said. “Working hard definitely paid off.”

The team recently competed at CIF finals and even has certain members going on to compete at a state level.

“MC competed very well at finals,” Vandenburgh said. “We were especially strong in the sprinting events. We had athletes competing in some long distance events including the 800.”

With the season coming to a close, the team is pushing themselves to do better than they ever have before in order to end on a successful stride.