Baton in hand, sweat in their eyes, muscles burning, the Girls’ and Boys’ Indoor Track team this season came in first in the Bronx Boroughs Championship. Last year, the Girls’ Varsity Indoor Track team came in third place in the indoor and outdoor season of track. Determined to make sure they placed first this year, the girls and boys have worked hard, consistently holding practice Mondays through Thursdays in school and at the Armory Track. This year, more than thirty new members have joined the Girls’ team as well as almost forty new members to the Boys’.

In addition to the new members of the track team, there is also a new assistant coach for the Girls’ team this year. Coach Anthony Vaughan, also known as Coach V., has played a huge role alongside Coach Marlene Payton. Issabella Huynh ’20, one of the captains for the Indoor Track season, has really pushed the girls to perform their best at each meet. “Coach Payton, Vaughan, and the girls were really determined to win boroughs this year, and it was definitely a goal for the this season. We even started preparing for the meet in the beginning of the season to progressively improve for Boroughs,” said Huynh.

Although Indoor Track is often seen more as an individual sport, the girls have proven this to be incorrect. Amy Liu ‘19 said, “If I learned one thing, it’s that Track is not an individual sport. Without the support and motivation that we gave each other, we would not have won Boroughs this year.” The bond between the team members grew even stronger; knowing each other’s strengths,weaknesses, and what they needed to improve on ultimately led the girls to their victory. Huynh added, “One thing that I did this season was to focus more on the bigger picture: us as a whole team rather than just myself. We challenged each other to not be mediocre and really pushed our limits.”

Without the support we gave each other, we would not have won this year.

The boys have previously won the Bronx Boroughs Championships and with each passing year, they have greatly improved by challenging their personal records individually and as a team. Kevin Chow ’19 said, “Without the coaches, captains, and my teammates, we would have not won Boroughs. They gave us the motivation we needed to get to the finish line.” Chow has improved from last year’s Outdoor Track season with his split time for the 4×200 relay from twenty seven seconds last season to twenty four this season. Dipu Chowdhury ’19 said, “Cross Country really prepared us for the Indoor season by making us stronger.”

Both teams hope to carry their success over to the Outdoor Track season in the Spring. Caroline Odia ’20 said, “Indoor Track, while being its own sport, is more of a preparation for the Outdoor season. I’m confident that we will once again win the Borough Championships, and we’ll jump right into the new season with no time to lose our strength and we’ll put in a tremendous amount of effort and get ourselves back into shape.”

The Boys and Girls’ Track Team hope for greater future endeavors to bring a big win for the outdoor season and track seasons to come.