Track and Field Summary FINAL

When sports teams go on “hot streaks,” or a period of consecutive wins, the implication is that these periods will end. Eventually, the train of good fortune will come to a screeching halt. Inevitably, no team can be perfect for too long without there remaining some aspect of legitimate competition. So how then, can the AHS Track and Field still be a legitimate team, and have maintained a hot streak for a mind-boggling four years? What kind of team wins the Pacific League on all four divisions of competition for the outlandish team record of 176-0?! It’s not as if the Pacific League has shabby competition; on the contrary, the League hosts such teams as John Muir, Pasadena, John Burroughs, and Crescenta Valley. To put this in perspective, when this year’s senior track members were freshmen, they will have ventured through their entire AHS Track and Field careers without ever having seen the team lose once, on any division. Certainly, success as grand as this does not come without its demand of genuine grit.

What does “grit” mean in this context? Its definition is best illustrated. As early as September, long before any competitive track meet takes place, many groans can be heard from the field. On a stiflingly hot Monday, Head Coach Christopher Schultz has just announced the day’s workout: what’s infamously known as a “five-four-three.” That’s 500m, then 400m, then 300m of complete sprinting. Furthermore, if Coach Schultz sees that one running group did not contribute its best effort to the workout, one interval is likely to be redone. As one would expect, they may get significantly tired, often affecting the “student” portion of student-athlete. Nonetheless, they maintain the academic requirements necessary to represent AHS in sport and bear the circumstances. Such a scene sums up the grit that AHS Track must assume for victory.

All of that preparation has willed many of its members to perform brilliantly. This year’s highlights include the 3:20.51 run by Boys 4x400m relay, composed of junior Nikko Ajao and seniors Alec Jen, Tony Moseley, and Alex McElwee. Individually, Alex recently ran a personal best 47.97 in the open 400m, which as of this publication is the 4th fastest time in California this year. In his first year competing in the 800m, Tony clocked a blistering 1:54.82. One particular standout on the boys’ side is sophomore Vincent Bai, who qualified to the CIF Southern Section prelims meet, after having placed well as an individual 100m at Pacific League Finals. Vincent managed to run an 11.10 in the 100m, placing 21st out of 45 elite competitors from all across California. Finally, senior Brian Chu was also crowned the Pacific League Champion in the pole vault, jumping 12'0". On the girls’ side, freshman Isabel Annino has been quite a standout, running a 46.40 in the Girls 300m hurdles race. At the Pacific League Finals, senior Janise Qin threw a 37'7" in the shotput and 103'2" in the discus, winning both. At the same meet, the Girls 4x400m relay, composed of seniors Fiona Chu, Irma Nugroho, sophomore Kyra White, and Isabel, ran a time of 4:00.02. We would like to be able to list the accomplishments of every individual, but then we would run out of room. Such is probably a good indication that Track has been pretty successful this year. After all, its hot streak is ongoing.