by Liam Trump ’24

To start the track and field season, the Prince George’s Sports and Learning Complex, where the majority of indoor meets are held, announced its temporary closure due to renovations. The original calendar had four MCPS meets held at the PG Complex, in addition to the season including two invitationals: The Dickinson College Holiday Invite and The Montgomery Invitational. Both invitationals went as planned, however all but one of the MCPS meets have been canceled due to renovations or poor weather. The only rescheduled event was the first meet which was held outside at Einstein, with only 7 schools competing instead of the standard 22.

“The closure of [the] PG sports complex for half the season was less than ideal. The good part is the kids have been showing up with a great attitude everyday and not letting it affect them,” said Coach Matthew Holonich. “We know there is adversity, and we are overcoming that adversity and just getting better everyday. The tough part is keeping the motivation because just practicing and not having competition is tough because we want to go out and prove what we are able to do.”

The season has, in spite of the cancellations, had some impressive performances for some of the top athletes for the boys and girls teams. The Dickinson and Montgomery invitationals, in particular, yielded very good results.

On the boys side, senior captains Sean Gravell and Ayden Fritsch both performed well in the 1600 meter race, with both of them getting times well below 5 minutes. On the sprinting end, some of the team’s standouts include freshman Jan Mason in the 55 meter dash, junior Tyrese Oxendine in the 300 meter dash, and junior Zaire Fulmore in the 500 meter dash.

On the girls team, sophomore Madeline Quirion has done well in the 1600 meter run, finishing the race in 5 minutes and 38 seconds. Leading the sprinters are juniors Zoey Scheraga and Sanora Floy, both running well in the 300 meter dash.

With the regular season not living up to its expectations due to bad luck with the renovations and the weather, the indoor team’s top athletes are hoping to succeed at the MCPS County Championship meet on January 23 and the 3A West Regional on February 10.