Atoms track has seen an exponential increase in their number of athletes this season but cannot seem to find success just yet. The Atoms have finished in the bottom half of teams at all three district meets this year as well as in invitationals.
The team recently returned from the Gojekian Twilight Classic at Woodbridge Senior High school this past Friday. The Atoms finished 11th out of 14 teams but had multiple high points in the meet.
Senior Jermiah Nelson won high jump at the meet and sophomores Hamza Kamara and Aiden Moore set new personal records at the meet in high jump.
“I felt really good jumping at Woodbridge and I think I can reach 5’8 by the end of the season,” Moore said. “These next few years we’ll be really strong in high jump if Hamza and I can continually improve our results.”
Nelson was not the only one to receive a medal at this meet, though, as the distance medley team (DMR) won bronze.
Junior Mehdi Ouallah came out hot, handing over the baton in first place after his 1200 meter run. He handed the baton to junior Caiden Dalton who ran the 400 meter and passed the baton to sophomore Ethan Dalrymple who gave his all in the 800 meter dash. After passing the baton to sophomore John Mahoney for the last leg of the relay, the 1600 meter, the Atoms were in third place. With ground to make up Mahoney ran his mile and secured the bronze medal for the boys.
“Finshing that race felt so good knowing I was able to secure bronze for the boys,” Mahoney said.”This was my first time earning a medal at a meet as well as one of my few times running a DMR so it was super special to win this medal with my friends and I hope we’re able to continue to find success throughout the season.”
The Atoms throw squad made up a good amount of the rest of the team’s points in the meet. Senior Connor Curry earned five points for the team by placing fourth and set a new personal record in the discus with a throw of 116-7 feet. Sophomore Emiliano Guevara earned two points for the team and also set a huge personal record with a throw of 94-0 feet.
“Finally throwing over 90 feet is such a big accomplishment for me and I am really happy about it,” Guevara said. “I’ve put a lot of effort into discus and it is nice to see it finally pay off.”
The meet ended with three 4×1 relays. First was the throwers relay, an event everyone loves to see because of how fun and exciting it is. The throwers relay is a 4×1 composed of athletes who threw earlier in the meet. The Atoms team was run by two girls and two boys who competed earlier. Although the team did not come within the top three finishers, the squad had a great time running in an event they wouldn’t normally participate in.
The second 4×1 was the girls 4×1. The girls put all their effort into the relay and performed well. Sophomore Miah Henderson was the anchor, or last leg of the relay, and ran a quick split,earning the team a time of 54.19 seconds.
“There was a lot of pressure being the anchor at the meet because of all the people there,” Henderson said. “I knew a lot of other people and teammates were watching so I made sure to run well. I’m overall pretty happy with our result but I think we can do better and I hope we will next time.”
Finally the boys 4×1 concluded the meet and the Atoms placed 6th with a time of 46.18 seconds. Senior Case Perkins was their anchor and ran a quick final leg to secure their placement.
While the Atoms may not be finishing high on the leaderboard they are all giving their maximum effort and setting new personal bests at every meet.
They will continue to compete at invitationals throughout the season and look to improve. The Atoms next meet is today at Hayfield Secondary School and the squad will travel to South Lakes Highschool on Friday to compete in another invitational.
“I am looking forward to competing at South Lakes on Friday because it is another opportunity to compete at an invitational,” Moore said. “Invitationals are always more fun because of the tougher competition and more events.”