Men’s track and field rebuilds for new season
After losing key members, the track and field members are working harder than ever to stay at the top
May 8, 2014
Due to the loss of important athletes through injury and graduation, the mens track and field team is working to remake themselves this season and return to the tops of the standings.
After losing Alex Olobia, a vital component of the sprinting team’s success, to graduation last year, this year’s runners are looking to step it up to keep dominating the rankings. Senior captain Ashby Brown along with junior Romney Noel and freshman Ethan Le are early standouts for the sprinting team.
The distance team is feeling strong, with senior Aaron Bowe expecting to reach State this season, along with junior Trevor Sytsma and sophomore Andrew Cooper. However, the team has had to deal with the loss of senior Collin Olson, who suffered an ACL tear during the winter outside of track and cross country.
During their first meet against Juanita, the team suffered a 77-57 loss. Noel brought in three wins for the team in two hurdle races and the 4×400 relay, the most for any individual male athlete, and Aaron Bowe had a close second with two in the mile and 4×400 relay as well. At the annual Liberty Invite they came in third, only 16 points behind first-place. Their second meet was against the 2A Lake Washington, where the runners had a strong showing, coming within 10 points of the Kangs. In the meet against Mt. Si, Noel swept the hurdles and Bowe ran a strong mile, but the team still fell short with a 87-58 loss.
Bypassing the large Pasco Invite due to high entrance standards, the Patriots instead competed at the Eason Invite over Easter weekend. The weather and competition were rough but the team came in 27 out of 65 schools from neighboring states and even Canada.
“They’re working hard and improving every week,” distance coach Mike Smith said. “It’s hard when you lose teammates, but the boys are stepping up and working hard.”
The runners will head to KingCos in the middle of May, with only two more dual meets and a triple remaining in the regular season. Senior night is April 24, where the Patriots will be competing against Interlake at home.