Arcadia High School’s (AHS) Track and Field Team dominated at the 15th annual San Gabriel Valley Championships on Apr. 16. The championship had about 30 teams competing, and the AHS Girls Varsity Track team and Girls Freshmen/Sophomore team brought home the championship trophy, while the Boys Varsity team came second overall, and the Boys Freshmen/Sophomore team came third. The performance of individual players was commendable.

The top performers of the day were:

Senior Shriya Velichala, Girls Varsity: won 4×100 Relay, 4×400 Relay, 400 meters, and came 3rd in 200 meters.

Senior Matthew Le, Boys Varsity: won Long Jump, Triple Jump, and High Jump, all with lifetime bests.

Sophomore Emma Samvelian, Girls Varsity: won Pole Vault and came 4th in Shot Put.

Junior Weber Lin, Boys Varsity: won 1600 meters.

Le enjoyed the event and said, “Overall, I’d say this is one of my most memorable track-related experiences so far. I met a lot of new people that I hope to see again at later meets like CIF prelims and hopefully CIF finals as well. The meet itself was planned really well in my opinion because they allowed ample time for the jumpers to rest by spacing out each jumping event throughout the course of the whole meet which really allowed me to perform the way that I did.”

He also said, “Personally, the highlight of the day for me was clearing 6’4 on the high jump because it was the last event of the day and also the event I had the least practice in.”

For him, the fact that it was the last event of the day, and the one he had the least practice with, made it all the better for him, when he won. He mentioned how he was proud of his overall performance because he didn’t have high expectations from the meet due to the fact that he hadn’t been focusing much on track.

For Velichala, the championship was a way for her to learn and improve.

“I am proud of how well I did because I improved my times a lot and placed 1st and 3rd in my individual events. In addition, the two relay teams that I am a part of also placed 1st at the track meet and it felt good to see my team’s and my own hard work at practice pay off at the meet,” said Velichala.

Lin, on the other hand, was proud of his accomplishment because he pushed himself to do three races on an event in a single day while he usually only does one.
He said, “I had a great time at the championships. Just being there with a bunch of my fellow athletes, both on my team and from other teams, is exciting because we all get to show off where the hard work we put into Track and Field goes!”

Even though for most of the athletes, this was a fun and reflective experience, Samvelian felt that while the event was educational, it was also a bit of a challenge.

“Practicing for this meet was stressful, and I forced myself to continue practicing my form although I was tired, knowing I needed to help my team score points,” said Samevelian.

She also added, “I’m pretty happy with how I did! I wanted to get a new personal record in the pole vault, but my record in the shot put made up for that. I wish I did better in the discus, but I think I’ll settle with what I got. I strive to do better at league finals this upcoming Thursday and, hopefully, CIF!”

Overall, the AHS Track and Field did a spectacular job! We’re all very proud of them!

Photo courtesy of ARCADIA HIGH SCHOOL TRACK AND FIELD TEAM