During an exponentially cold winter, the Lakeland Regional High School Track & Field team refused to let the frigid temperatures ruin their goals for the season. As their team motto goes, they were truly “All In” when it came to hitting the times and marks they needed.
The Beginning of Success:
Although there weren’t many meets during the first month of the season, the team used this time to build up their training. Everyday, both teams were working hard on the track or in the gym. Head girls coach Melissa Walker told the Ledger, “No one works harder than our teams..our kids showed up at every practice and pushed each other to be their best.” Their hard work truly showed in their times and marks during the biggest meets of the season.
Championship Season:
With most major championship meets being in close proximity to each other, the Lancers proved to be locked in when it came to keeping their composure together. Both teams refused to let go of their winning spirit.
The girls team won the conference championship by 44 points, with only 16 girls on the team. Every single person on the team contributed to the score, most girls ran multiple events for the team. Senior Captain Isabella Andriulli exclaimed, “It was amazing to see the progression of our team from the beginning of the season up until that point.”
On the boys side, their team got second place, a huge improvement from last year. In last year’s conference meet, the boys team got dead last, only scoring 30 points. This year, the boys scored 94 points, with massive contributions from upperclassmen seniors Brody McCormack and Joshua Donza and also juniors Evan Caldwell, Zachary Post, and Logan Gray. Captain Gray agreed that the conference meet was the most significant of the season.
Both teams came up short during the county meet after being extremely outnumbered by large schools like PCTI and Clifton. The girls team placed 2nd and the boys took 3rd.
Personal and School Records:
This season was full of school records, especially from the throwers of LRHS. Both Andriulli and McCormack broke the school record in indoor shot-put. Not only did they break the record, they continuously broke their own records each meet. Both of the athletes competed at the Meet Of Champions, the highest meet of New Jersey high school track & field. McCormack placed 24th and Andriulli placed 14th overall in the entire state.
Outlook for Spring:
Both teams feel confident coming out of the winter season and hope to continue their success through spring. The boys team hopes to continue developing their talent for the spring season. Gray believes that the team’s “potential is truly unlocked.”
This winter gave both teams a sneak peak of what assets other teams have, and how they can defeat them. The girls are especially determined to win the spring county championship after taking a loss to PCTI in winter. Andriulli claims, “It would be nice to knock PCTI down off the peg they put themselves onto.” The girls team has made it their mission for spring to end the reign of PCTI bullying the smaller schools they compete against. Let’s just say that it’s truly dangerous how hungry the girls team is for their rematch with PCTI, and they should buckle up.
