Track falls short of making state

Shayan ChettyStaff WriterVarsity track’s four-by-four girls’ relay team sprinted its way to California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) Finals but fell short of reaching state. Thirteen other athletes also reached the CIF Preliminary round.“Thirteen [members] of our team made it to CIF, which is actually more than usual, so we were very pleased,” coach Tania Fischer said. “And the good thing was that we had not only runners make it there. Athletes from the throws, jumps, sprints and distances all competed in the preliminary round of CIF.”Arden Lassalle (’14), Samo’s accomplished mile runner, reached CIF Preliminaries but pulled his hamstring and had to withdraw just before the race. According to Lassalle, all he could think about was that his season was over and that he wouldn’t be running in his last CIF competition.Placed in Division I, track was faced with teams including El Segundo and Palos Verdes, which provided some intense competition this year. According to Fischer, the relay team, consisting of Lauren Schultz (’14), Joylynn Daily (’15), Taji McKinley (’13) and Kloey Battista (’14) should be very proud considering the high-level competition in their heat.“You have to be on every weekend — you can’t have a bad day or a day off,” Fischer said. “What a lot of people don’t understand is that even if you get first, second or third, you still have to qualify with your time. And then it gets tougher and tougher because there are two more levels until you get to state.”Though the team’s goal of competing in state wasn’t met, both the runners and Fischer are looking forward to next season.“Yes, our goal was to get to state and we fell short but [the relay team] ran really well and beat school records over the course of the year,” Fischer said. “They had some good achievements and we’re all really proud of them.”According to Battista, getting past CIF Preliminaries was still a great accomplishment, but there is room for improvement, especially since the team is losing McKinley.“We were very disappointed because we worked so hard this season, but next year, with a little more of the challenging training we did this year, I know we can go all the way to state,” Battista said.Halimat Adeyemi (’16), the team’s alternate, will replace McKinley next year.“[Adeyemi] is really an amazing athlete worth mentioning and has been training a lot with the relay team,” Fischer said. “They’re ready for next year.”Team manager Gilda Gonzalez (’14) is confident that next year the relay team will go to state.“Even though there’s a lot of pride to be had with the level everyone got to, there’s no doubt that Samo will be represented in some manner in state next year,” Gonzalez said.This team has put in hard work the entire school year according to coach Lovell Houston. After pushing through the hot summer days and coming together as a team, the hard work has paid off.“[The girls] come out to the track together at the same time, work out together and stretch as one,” Houston said. “Not only do they care for each other like a family, they are inspired by every single person on this team. I couldn’t be prouder of [the] efforts they have given throughout the year.”schetty@thesamohi.com