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The Providential

The Providential

The Providential

Winter Track Mid-season Report

It is midseason for all winter sports, and the boys and girls winter track teams are off to a great start.  After already braving a month and a half of Mother Nature’s ever fluctuating weather, the boys and girls track teams have been keeping up with her and show no signs of fear or intimidation.

Led by senior captains Chris Aresco, Joe Flanagan, Billy Gilroy, and Michael Closs, the underclassmen on the boys track team have great role models to look up to.  Aresco, Flanagan, and Gilroy are all distance runners, running anything from a mile, to an 800m, and even the 600m race.  Halfway through the season, these seniors are keeping up the great reputation they have built up over the past 4 years.  Also a captain is Closs who rather than running, does the field events – pole vaulting and high jumping – for the boys’ team.  Another senior on the team is Nick Xu, a talented sprinter.  Xu leads fast underclassmen such as Mark Hays, Jeff Doran, and Marc Giacolone.   Meanwhile, Aresco, Flanagan, and Gilroy lead fellow speedy distance runners such as Michael Wolak and the brother of the Pioneer track star, Jordan Price.  Price has been having stellar performances as just a freshman.  He has a bright track future ahead of him; this could even be seen during the 2012-2013 cross country season.  Finally, Closs leads fellow fielder Sebastian Camacho, who both do great at high jump and pole vault relays.

There have been 5 winter track meets so far.  At the Union Country Relays, the boys’ distance medley, consisting of a 1200m, 400m, 800m, and mile run, finished with an impressive 11:29 which was just shy of scoring.  In winter track, you need to finish within the top six, a challenging feat, to earn points for your team.  At the Deschriver Invitational, held at DrewUniversity, Price ran an incredible 4:49 mile, and was the fastest freshman out of all 65 people entered in the race.

As for the girls team, they have been adjusting to change, but have been adapting to it quite well.  The girls team has two captains: Isabella Wilson and Camille Ake.  Wilson leads fellow distance runners Kirstie Peterson, Ayleen Solis, and freshman Megan Friscia.  As for the sprinters, Ake leads fellow sprinters Myah Campbell-Reaves and newcomer Julia Wilson, Isabella’s younger sister.  In the field events, it is up to seniors Jackaina Pluviose and Jocelyn Andreae to help each other during their final year in events such as high jump, pole vault, and shot put.

At halfway through the season, the girls team has been doing their best to make up for the loss of seniors Courtney Connolly, Olivia Arent, and Nicole Saitta.  Not to worry however, the girls have fresh talent to make up for these losses. 

“I think it is going well because we have girls that are running or close to under 6 minute miles which benefits the team as a whole,” says Captain Wilson when summarizing the first half of the season.  For example, freshman Megan Friscia has been having a stupendous season so far.  Running constant sub-6 minute miles, she is proving to be a real contender in the meets.  Also having great runs this year is freshman sprinter Julia Wilson.  Wilson has been running a 30 second 200m and is just a couple milliseconds off from achieving a personal record and running a sub-29 second 200m.  It must be in the Wilson family genes to run quickly because older sister Isabella has been leading the 4x800m run this year.  Comprised of Wilson, Solis, Peterson, and Friscia, the 4x800m is slowly becoming the girls team’s best event. 

The reason for success could be due to the workouts this year.  “We’ve been running hard workouts and really have been trying to improve,” says Wilson. 

Though for the moment, the trophy goes to Campbell-Reaves in the shot put event.  Reaves has been throwing 31 foot throws since the beginning of the season and has been medaling frequently.  “It is going well.  However, we are trying to make the most out of the time we have left,” says Reaves.  One negative factor in the field team’s performance would be the lack of members.  “Although we haven’t had many field practices, it has been a pretty decent season with little improvements here and there,” says Andreae.

The entire track program has undergone shifts in leadership from the top down this year as well.  Head coach Mr.  Kelly has left the New Providence district thus relinquishing his job as Head track coach.  This year, Mr.  Arnold has become the new head coach.  He now coaches the boys team and the distance teams.  On the flipside, a new coach was needed for the girls and the sprinters.  That position has been filled by Ms. Murphy, a teacher at Salt Brook School.  Also helping out this season are Coach Meyer and Coach Prufer, each helping the distance and sprint teams respectively.

As the season continues to trek on, Mr. Arnold is nothing but excited for how it will continue going.  “I’ve been really happy with the amount of new runners,” he says.  “There are lots of opportunities for new things.  The most important part is still coming.” He continues by saying, “I’m optimistic to set a lot of personal records and school records.”  That will be what both teams will try to accomplish with the month left of the season.  It is quite possible for this to be achieved because both track teams are compromised of not only natural born runners, but natural born leaders.  As the seconds tick on, we will have to just wait and see what these runners can do.

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Winter Track Mid-season Report