by Kyle Melnick ’14

After a spectacular regional meet for both the boys’ and girls’ teams, all five state qualifiers looked to build on their momentum for the state championship on February 21, 2013. The Warriors did exactly that, finishing three qualifiers in the top five of their event.

Junior Grace McDonald continued to improve into the state meet, finishing 5^th in the 800m. Of the four runners who finished before her, three of them will be graduating this spring; making the field more open for McDonald to win next year. Junior Ameerat Olatunde placed 5^th in the shot put, throwing over a foot better than her previous best. Senior Lauren Paese finished 11^th place in the high jump.

Senior Robel Kebede shocked spectators again with a 5^th place finish in the 800m, dropping his time by over a second. Kebede has improved briskly since the beginning of the season and will certainly be a contender for the 800m county title during the outdoor track and field season.

“Running is the greatest metaphor for life, because you get out of it what you put into it,” said Kebede. “My expectation for outdoor track is to break two minutes in the 800m and qualify for the state championship in the 800m, 1600m and 3200m relay.”

Although sophomore Lauren Woods only finished 8^th in the 55m dash and 9^th in the 300m dash, she has had the best underclassmen performance of any sprinter in the county this season. She was still the second underclassmen to finish in both events. Woods not only will be looking forward to winning a title next indoor season, but still is a contender for a county title in the 100m dash and 200m dash during this spring’s outdoor track and field season. She has proven that she can compete with the county’s best in past meets.