BY MEREDITH ELLISON, CONTRIBUTOR
The indoor track season is coming to a close but the tigers plan to go out with a bang and carry that momentum to the outdoor season. The 2014-15 DCIAA Indoor Track Championships were held on January 28 in the Prince George’s County Sports and Learning Complex, where both the girls and boys teams showed strong performances. The Wilson boys team captured the championship, winning with 150 points, 84 points ahead of the second place team, Roosevelt. The Wilson girls placed second with 150 points, 15 points behind McKinley Tech. Some of the highlights of the city championship meet include Wilson’s 1-2-3 finishes in boy’s high jump and the girl’s 3200 meter run. The tigers also won both the boys and girls 4×800 meter relays.
Mayim Lehrich, the girls 3200 meter city champion, said that at the meet, “Everybody was really supportive.” She added that the team is, “Building a fire and at just the right time, we’re going to light the match.”
In reviewing the results from the meet, Coach Beliveau said, “It was great to see so many season’s best performances but unfortunately we had to hold off some of our top athletes and limit the events of others to prepare for a national level meet at Virginia Tech.” Just two days after the city championships, members of the Tigers track team headed to Blacksburg, Virginia to compete in the Virginia Track Indoor Invitational where the Tigers would go up against some of the fastest teams in the region.
The DCSAA meet will be held on Tuesday, February 10. The Tigers will compete against private and charter schools as well as public schools. Coach Dunham explained, “The indoor season is to set the foundation for the more competitive part of the season, which is outdoor track. We are in a transition, moving our program from a local program to a more regional and national caliber one. We use the indoor season as a springboard in preparation to peak during the months of May and June.”
After the state meet, many Tigers track athletes will take a short break before the outdoor season, but a few Tigers will continue training for New Balance Nationals in New York City in March.
PHOTO COURTESY OF ERIN DOHERTY