From the crack of the gun to the final step over the finish line, track is all about heart, determination, and grit. While running is a simple physical activity, much of track breaks down to a test of mental toughness. Despite labored breathing and lactic acid building up, runners push themselves to continue even when dealing with tremendous adversity. It is often how well a runner can push through discomfort that truly determines success.

The Boys’ Winter Track team, led by captains Will Phinney ‘17, Matt Mychalowych ‘17, Ben Cambria ‘17, and Reed Handabaka ‘17, was amazingly victorious this past season.  Despite many injuries on the roster at the beginning of the season, the team was able to overcome these difficulties due to many upperclassmen on the team elevating their performance.

At the Sectional Championships, the boys’ team won several medals, with Tim Youtkus ‘17 medaling in High Jump, Will Phinney ‘17 in the 800 meter dash, and Luke Schraer ‘18 and Chris Conroy ‘17 in Pole Vault, to name a few.

At the Meet of Champions, or the state championship, six boys competed for Ridge: Tim Youtkus competed in High Jump, the team of Ryan Orr ‘17, Patrick Bayeux ‘18, Brett Asay ‘18, and Tommy Martinson ‘17 in the 4×800 meter relay, and Will Phinney ‘17 in the open 800 meter run.  The 4×800 team medaled at MOCs, receiving 5th in the state, and Will Phinney ‘17 placed 6th.  This strong showcase provided some encouragement going into nationals. Having previously competed at high stakes meets, the boys had some valuable experience in advance of competing at nationals.

Will Phinney described what it was like to compete at Indoor Nationals for his final time before graduating: “Going to Nationals was exciting and a lot less stressful than most other meets. Once you make it to Nationals, there’s nothing left to qualify for, so you’re just there to run and enjoy the sport. We were able to get the school record, but I think each one of us could have run a little faster.”

The boys’ 4×800 placed 18th in the meet, with Bayeux and Phinney breaking their previous personal bests.

The Girls’ Winter Track team had quite an impressive season as well. They dominated the Sections meet and medaled at the Meet of Champions in High Jump and the 4×800. The 4×800 girls team, consisting of Brooke Fazio ‘17, Catherine Giuseffi ‘17, Meghan Convery ‘18, and Kaitlyn Van Baalen ‘18, won first place, winning the title of best in New Jersey. Merely being the best in the state was not enough, as the team of four also went to Nationals and torched the competition.  They each improved their times and shattered the previous school record by thirteen seconds, running the 4×800 in nine minutes and one second.  They won first place in their heat, as well as first place in the entire nation.  The girls each earned the honorable title of “All-American,” a classification reserved for those in the top six in their event in the country.

Van Baalen explains what it means to her to achieve this nearly impossible dream: “Nationals was an amazing experience for so many reasons. Becoming a national champion is like a dream that you always strive for but are not sure you can reach. The fact that it happened is still so surreal to me. Accomplishing that with this group of girls feels so rewarding. We have been training for this for years, and I cannot think of a better way to end our last indoor season together.”

Both teams’ success this season proved to the competition that the Ridge track team is a force to be reckoned with. Hopefully, this success translates over to the Spring season, in which Ridge looks to break more school records and win more medals and trophies. Congratulations to all those on the winter track teams, and good luck to the track program this spring!