By Emma Moriarty
“I used to have a fear of hurdles,” freshman runner Patrick Pagnozzi admits, “but I got over it.” As the track season runs up on us again, new freshmen do the same. Six ninth-graders have joined track this year and bring along with them new spirit and inspiration to the team.
On March 6, the team had their second meet of the season at Queen Creek. Freshman Rachel Dietz recalls that eventful day, “It was really, really windy and it felt like we were running through Jell-o, but a lot of runners on the team got a personal record! It was kind of a rush because you know what events you are doing but have no idea what time so you have to listen to the announcer’s fuzzy Charlie-Brown-teacher-voice to find out when to wake up from your nap and go run your heart out.”
Despite intelligible announcers, Tempe Prep still placed extremely well on Friday. Junior athlete Connor Woltz broke Tempe Prep’s school record in the 100-meter high hurdles with a time of 15.1 seconds, also beating his record from last year by nearly 2 seconds. The previous record of 15.18 seconds has been held for four years by Tempe Prep alum Pau Tonnesen.
Senior Rachel Matsumoto also did extremely well when she won the 800-meter with a time of 2:33. Freshmen Katherine Camberg and Rachel Dietz also did well in the 800-meter, only 20 seconds behind Rachel Matsumoto. TPA did well in the 100 also, with Rachel Matsumoto earning second place with a time of 13.88 seconds.
Connor Woltz also triumphed in the 300-meter after winning third with a time of 43.37 seconds. The TPA 4 by 100 relay team consisted of Zachariah Brittain, Isaiah Brittain, Ahmad Jones, and Connor Woltz and won a strong fourth place overall with a time of 47.94 seconds. The women’s 4 by 800 relay team depended on Karly Vullo, Rachel Dietz, Katherine Camberg, and Rachel Matsumoto, with the relay team being 50 percent freshmen; they proved how dedicated and hard working all four were after winning second place with a time of 11:34. Isaiah Brittain also won second place in the 12-pound shot put event.
This high-scoring team shows how immensely devoted and hard-working Tempe Prep’s track and field team is. Rachel Dietz explains what motivates her and pushes her to do her best in track: “It’s tough, of course, but you do it because you love it more than anything else.”