By Leo Corman ’15

On February 18, the indoor track squad wrapped up their season at the Maryland 4A State Championships with a 16^th place finish out of 35 teams. Junior Tiffany Woods placed eighth in the 500 meter run with a time of 1:19.98, and sophomore Maddie Peloff ran a personal best time of 11:54.78 in the 3200 meter run. Additionally, the girls’ 4-by-200 meter relay of Tiffany and Lauren Woods, senior Grace McDonald and sophomore Alyssa Moran finished 4^th out of 14 teams with a time of 1:46.58, while the 4-by-400 meter relay of Tiffany Woods, McDonald, Moran, and and junior Molly Hierholzer placed 5^th out of 13 teams with a time of 4:08.28.

“Overall we had a pretty successful season, especially from our girls’ team,” said McDonald. “There were a lot of time improvements across the board. In addition to some of our successful veterans, we had a lot of new talent with great potential for the outdoor season. I was proud of our team because we were not only competitors, but teammates who were really looking out for one another to see that we reached our maximum ability.” The team pulled out a strong performance in the 4-by-400 despite an injury to their anchor Lauren Woods, as alternate Moran ran well in her place.

Although no athletes on the boys’ side qualified for the state meet, a number of boys nonetheless put forth excellent seasons worthy of recognition. Junior Rufus Settles finished seventh in the regional meet in the 55 meter dash with a time of 6.93 seconds, while junior Jefferson Ruiz broke five minutes in the mile at the county meet. Also, junior Owen Miller and senior David Zavala contributed strong seasons as middle distance runners.

“It’s been a great season with a lot of growth. I am very proud of … how much of a team we are starting to become,” said Coach Christopher Bantum. “[The spring] season is going to be great. We are in a good position in terms of shape and technique. Track and Field is the original sport of the warrior, only a true warrior can handle the level of discipline it takes to be successful. Only the strong survive here, that’s why we don’t need cuts.” The team will look forward to carrying their momentum into a productive outdoor season.