Through the first two meets of the girls track season, high hopes and unknown potentials have lifted the Lady Lancers to a victory in the Timberland Wolfpack Invitational on April 9.
The Lady Lancers, solid on various fronts, managed to take 120 points at the meet, outscoring the nearest competitor, Cahokia, by 23.
The girls easily took the lead by claiming consistent victories in an assortment of events from the pole vault where senior Alyssa Shaw made an 8 foot 6 inch jump, to the 4×800 meter relay where juniors Kayla Hall, Hannah Thurauf and sophomores Brittany Boone and Jessica Maddox managed to fend off the competition with a 10:01.96 finish.
Other leaders from Lafayette included the 4×200 meter relay in which seniors Anastasia Harris and Patricia Miller along with junior Heather Meyer and freshman Arianna Demos ran a 1:49.32 collectively.
Hall also managed to earn first place in the 800 meter by running a 2:22.41.
The beginning of the Lady Lancer’s season was sure to be the telltale sign of what expectations should be held for their progress.
Head Coach Marty Margalski said, “Honestly, I have no idea how good we truly can be, yet. It has been a broken up spring and I am just hoping to find out exactly where we can place and get people.”
Because of this, Margalski’s goals were quite general.
He said, “We would like to round out and improve and to be the best we can be.”
This early success has not changed those goals, either, Margalski said, primarily because, “Those goals are long term ideas.
He continued, “The goals are what we are going to accomplish and are what we’ve put in for the long haul, but, from the meets we’ve had we are certainly on track to meet those goals if we continue going like we are.”
Margalski, however, also said that he does have high hopes for the team.
He said, “I have expectations of all of them to step up into those leading spots and I would never call any of them surprises because they have been working all along and they are going to make it into those positions.”
After the successful win at Timberland, Thurauf explained her outlook on the season, past and future.
She said, “The team has worked very hard this season and it really paid off this weekend as we won the meet at Timberland. Everyone as a whole has progressed by becoming closer and working together.”
Hall agreed, saying, “Well, I think that everyone has been putting in hard work and from week to week we just keep getting better through those practices.”
Hall also explained her outlook on the competition, saying, “I definitely think that being able to compete against some people that we’ll see in Conference and Districts will help us when those meets come around. And we’ve been playing around with different orders for relays for the first two meets so we can see which fit works for the future.”
Thurauf explained that she sees great strength in the distance team for the year. She said, “We are very strong. We are constantly building endurance and enhancing our speed, so we perform better at the meets. Our 4×800 relay, like last year, contributes to the team total every meet and Jessica Maddox and Kayla Hall have the fastest times on the 4×400 relay. Also, Maddie Henning and Grace Bueckendorf are solid milers.”
Though Margalski is keeping his goals more in reach for now, Thurauf explained that she has great expectations for the girls track team.
Thurauf concluded, “My goal for this season is to make it to State for the 4×800 relay. We came so close last year, as we took 6th at Sectionals, so we would really be happy to make it to State.”
