The school year may be slowing down, but the Boys and Girls Varsity Track teams certainly aren’t–having finished the season as League Champions, the teams are now preparing for individual CIF runs. The teams had 18 individual CIF qualifiers who competed in CIF-SS Prelims and 1 who moved on to CIF-SS Finals.

Track’s postseason meets began on April 28 with League Prelims, a qualifying meet in which the top nine in each track event moved on to the finals the following week. The meet, hosted by AHS, lasted six hours as each event had multiple heats. In some events, up to 32 competitors vied for the top nine spots. The results: a huge success for AHS, with its athletes moving forward in every single event.

The following week, AHS hosted the League Finals at home. Here, the top nine in each track event as well as the top four from each school in the field events competed to earn League titles and hopefully move on to CIF Prelims. The heat was tough and competition even fiercer, but AHS still managed to come out on top. Overall, the Boys and Girls Varsity teams had 11 League Champions–the most of any school in the league.

For many, League Finals was the last race of their season. Athletes such as senior Johanna Read ended not just their season, but their time in high school track at the League Finals meet. Johanna shared, “although I didn’t like the workouts at the time, I know I’ll miss [track] and appreciate it in the future. I’m definitely going to miss all my underclassmen friends.” Senior Danny Song agreed, saying “I’m going to miss running with my teammates next year.” Other track athletes, such as junior Daphne Wu, are already looking ahead to next season. Daphne explained that she is excited to “perfect [her] form in the pole vault,” and is planning to continue practicing throughout this year and next in order to accomplish her goal.

Those who did move forward competed in CIF Prelims, a qualifying meet encompassing all of CIF-SS. Athletes from leagues all over Southern California participated, each hoping to place in the top nine of their event to move on to CIF-SS Finals. At the meet, junior Stephanie Yen had a standout performance and qualified for finals in both long and triple jump, making her the only member of Boys and Girls Varsity Track to move on to CIF-SS Finals. On her season, Stephanie shared that she “loved this season because [she] made a lot of improvement this year for both long and triple.”. Other athletes, such as freshman Nikki Wong, were simply happy for the opportunity to compete at a higher level. Nikki felt the meet “was fun, and opened [her] eyes to a world of faster runners and put things in perspective” for her. She is excited for next year’s track season and hopes to do improve for CIF next year.

At CIF finals, Stephanie finished 5th in Division I Triple Jump and 14th overall. She said, “I’m happy that I even made it to CIF finals. I wish I went farther, but its okay because there is always next season.” Although she didn’t move on this year, Stephanie is hopeful for next year and is planning to train harder in order to qualify for the CIF Masters meet. Overall, Boys and Girls Varsity track had yet another successful season this year, with both teams finishing undefeated and as League Champions. The teams are already preparing for next year, so watch out for them!

Photo Courtesy of Brian Soong