Members of the Track and Field team participated in a season opener invitational at Archbishop Mitty High School today.  Due to the rain, some events, such as the boys 110 meter hurdles and pole vault, were cancelled.

For the freshmen, this first track meet was the cause of some nervousness and anxiety. Cross country school record holder Niki Iyer (9) thought that it was a pretty nerve wracking meet for her but believes that “just being excited is very important.”

Other newcomers to the team also felt the sense of excitement. Sophomore Johnathon Keller felt that “running in a track meet for the first time was fun because I made new friends and it was fun competition.” However, “the rain made the track slippery, which was hard to run on,” Johnathon said. Johnathon’s events include the 100 meter dash and the 4×1 relay.

Similarly, returning runner Calvin Kocienda (10) “enjoyed the 30 seconds that [he] was running” but thought the rest of the meet was less than ideal because of the rain and low temperatures.

Junior Sidhart Krishnamurthi, however, felt that the rain was constructive and helped him “to bond with [his] teammates through it, and the conditions will only improve from here.”

Another runner new to the team this year, Helen Xie (10) also “enjoyed the moments when [she] ran because that got [her] pumped and [she] was actually warm.” The light race clothing worn by runners made the few minutes before and after races quite chilly. Soaked jackets and sweat pants were also not conducive to staying warm.

In regard to the rain, this year’s team captain Claudia Tischler (12) thought it “was a bit unusual for us, so many of the runners were more than normally nervous.” Although she also feels that “it’s a good experience [to] race in different conditions.”

Rain or shine, team members were dismissed from class at 1:30 P.M. and met in the back loading zone to board the bus. At Mitty, a tent was set up to provide some shelter from the rain. Despite their efforts to stay dry, nearly all runners, long jumpers, and throwers were soaked by the end of their event.

The team has their next meet at the annual Willow Glen Invitational this Saturday, March 1.