The Arcadia Track and Field Mini Meet marked the official start of the spring season. The meet was hosted on Feb. 17 at the Arcadia High School (AHS) Salter Stadium and was the first time this year all athletes on the AHS Track and Field team were given the opportunity to compete, regardless of what team they’re on
The meet began at 10 a.m., starting out with the 4x100m relay, before shifting gears to the 1600m. Shortly after, distances became smaller, but obstacles grew bigger as athletes prepared for the 100m and 110m hurdle, which concluded the morning races. Simultaneously, on the other side of the field, the Girls Frosh-Soph and Varsity teams were competing in a multitude of events including long jump, pole vault, shot put, and discus throwing. Meanwhile the Boys Frosh-Soph team were competing in high jump near the West Jump Pit.
AHS junior Nicole Tseng, who competed in triple jump, high jump, and long jump, stated that “the meet was great for being the first of the season. It allowed me to validate what I] was doing right and highlight those areas I needed to improve on. Out of the three events I competed in, my best was high jump, where I even managed to set a new personal record [PR].”
Following the morning events were a couple of sprints including the 400m and 100m, before switching over to the strenuous 800m and arduous 300m hurdle. Meanwhile, the field event competitions were finishing up and concluded with discus throwing, long jump, and triple jump.
AHS junior Vivien Lee, who raced the 200m and 400m, shared her experience regarding the 400m, expressing that “on the day of the meet, I was nervous and anticipated the race, but as soon as I walked up to the starting line, I surprisingly felt fine. Although I felt that I didn’t do well at that particular meet, I was definitely able to learn new lessons and am excited for future accomplishments such as setting new personal records.”
As the day progressed, so did the distances with races. After the 300m hurdle came the 200m, and shortly after that was the 3200m and 1600m relay to end off the meet.
AHS sophomore Kylie Yang, who competed in both long jump and the 200m, remarked on her successful outlook on the meet, saying, “I thought this meet was really fun because I got to try a new event which was long jump, and I got a PR in the 200m. Overall, this meet was a really good experience, and I was really happy to see that the work I put in these last few months paid off, and it motivates me to keep working hard.”
It was such a wonderful experience for all of our amazing Track and Field athletes to have a chance to demonstrate all their hard work from the past months. Go Apaches! Keep striving for higher goals!
Photo courtesy of Arcadia DCI intern Rachel Saw
