Girls Indoor Track Showcases Leadership and Talent In Second Meet

All around solid performances from the Spartans led them to a 69-26 win over Amherst Pelham Regional High School.

The most notable statistic for the girls was from sophomore Funmi Coates, who placed first overall in the 300 meter dash with a time of 44.85 seconds. 

Coates also placed third overall in the 55-meter dash, in which senior captain Abby Davis placed 5th. 

Davis placed ninth in the long jump, where one of her co-captains, senior Julieann Voight, placed fifteenth. Voight’s most remarkable event, the 600-meter run, earned her fifth place with a time of 2:01.19. 

The third and final captain alongside Davis and Voight is senior Alisha Ramesh, who finished second in shot put. Senior Ashley Kahi came close behind in third place. 

Other upperclassmen placed well. Junior Destinee Fox placed second in the 55-meter hurdles, senior Lauren Condike placed third in the high jump, junior Samantha Edwards finished fifth in the one mile, and junior Emily Baker, captain of the girls cross country team, came in fourth in the 1000-meter run.

Some of these performances from the girls have been personal records, something which Davis says has been coming “from everyone” throughout the first two meets.

Though an optimistic sign for the team, there is still work to be done.

“You cannot be satisfied with anything in this sport,” head coach Michael Budd said. 

Needing more effort out of his girls, Budd has left it to his captains to push their teammates to their highest potential.

“They take command of the team and the things that we need to do,” Budd said. “They already know what we need to do so we’re really just there to observe and tweak a few things.”

All three of these captains faced their responsibilities in leading their team head on, and with the utmost of positivity.

“As captains, we’re trying to help them out and give them the best advice we can,” Abby Davis said. “Once they get more comfortable, I think we’ll see a lot of improvement from both the underclassmen and upperclassmen.”

“As people compete in more meets, they’ll know what to do, start to believe in themselves, and continue to improve. I think we have a really great team,” Julieann Voight said.

“At the end of the year I want to see everyone super happy with their goals,” Alisha Ramesh said. “It takes dedication and this team has the dedication. We all support each other.”

The main theme the captains spoke about centered around teamwork, something coach Budd believes will ensure success for each individual.

“If you have great teammates, things are going to happen really well for you,” Budd said. “Every single one of these people here are great teammates because they watch over each other and help each other.”

As for how the girls’ great teamwork qualities came to be, Davis says that they all clicked from the very beginning.

“In the first week, people were bonding and forming friendships left and right,” Davis said. “We already have good chemistry and that’s just going to get stronger with the more time we spend together.”

The early connection this team formed with each other has certainly paid off on the track, and there is more to come in the future.

“We’re always there for each other,” Voight said. “We have a lot of talent, and we will do very well in the future.” 

Ramesh also believes that progress in the weightroom will tremendously improve the girls’ all around performances.

“For us to get more powerful and strong we need to be in the weight room. We need more time and technique with that.”

The girls and boys indoor track teams compete next Wednesday in the Reggie Lewis Center at 10 a.m.