Last month, the Emerson track team participated its first relay meet of the season at the Bergen County Relays on January 21, at the New York Armory. The main events are a relay where two individuals are needed for the field and four are needed on the track.
Emerson has attended this meet before as it takes place in the winter and the spring. This winter, the track members attended the relays with a motivation like no other due to the lack of individuals that participated this year. Compared to last year, the team had fewer participants, meaning that others had to be put in events that truly are not their strong suit. Emerson had representatives from jumpers, sprinters, throwers and pole vaulters.
Leading up to the meet, track members took mental steps to prepare for their events while driving to the event. Some, like those who pole vault, need to be ready as soon as they arrive at the meet, so they can’t put
“I listen to calming and energetic music that relaxes me before my jumps” said junior Peter Forshadal. This meet is different though as he had to be prepared with his partner too. Together they had to work in unison so that they could achieve the greatest height. Though they achieved 9ft together, their bond pushed them to be prepared for the spring in understanding how to communicate and work together for the best result.
Due to its small size, the team could only compete in a few events. Even then, some members had to compete in an event they don’t normally do. In boys hurdles, they had placed individuals that normally do not do running events but instead field. When time came they looked for anyone they got.
“When time comes, having the knowledge of hurdling benefits others as it’s easier to teach them in the relay,” said junior Logan Clavel. Having individuals who usually participate somewhere else is known to be always a risk, however that was not the case. They placed fourth with a time of 37.35, only 1.4 from third place.
With only a few events on the track, placing points came from the field. With their first time working together this year, they had the focus on them. Ally Palladino and Angelina Brunelle, with tough work and education, got 61ft in total in the triple jump and one had placed fifth solo.
“Jumping in front of everyone puts some pressure on me to do my best especially since triple jumpers were waiting for me to finish, but keeping my mind clear helped me to be able to achieve fifth,” said sophomore Ally Palladino.
Shot put throwers senior Juliana Pallidino and junior Gillian Pasqualino took part in a relay. Ending together they achieved 49ft in shot put with both throwing mid 20s.
“Going into it I knew that any one of the meets could be my last, so I wanted to try my best.”
— senior Juliana Palladino.
In the end, Emerson had not placed in the overall division, but the little accomplishments made the 7 hour long meet worth it. With new PRs and placing in certain events, individuals were able to see how even though it was a solo achievement, it was an overall important time for the whole team.
“All the athletes tried their best and now we can all look forward to the start of spring track where we will have more time to practice and enjoy the season,” said Mr. McKinstry.
