Track team jump-starts season

Blair's indoor track team got off to a great start today in their first meet of the season, placing first in many heats and providing stiff competition for their Maryland region rivals.

Senior co-captain Jossi Fritz-Mauer led the way, combining determined strides with steadfast endurance to place first in his heat in the 1600 meter medley in only 5:01 minutes.

A teammate attributed Fritz-Mauer's exemplary performance to his ability to control his energy on the track. "Jossi had excellent techniques," she said. "He conserved his energy and came out with just enough power to secure him a top three place every race."

Coach Carlene Hawkins also commended Fritz-Mauer, adding that he followed the instructions given at practice perfectly. "Jossi did exactly what I told him to do go after people and get in front," she said. "He went out, attacked, got [his competitors] out of the way, and ran strong for the entire race.

In the 500 meter event, junior Avi Kellar skillfully whizzed by his opponents and seized the trophy after a mere 1: 27 minutes. Sweat trickling down his forehead, Keller stressed the importance of conserving power until the last leg of the race. "You don't want to print the whole way," he said, "unless you're just so good, you can dust [the competitors] from the get go."

Moving into the girls arena, senior co-captain Hayley Wynn buzzed through the 4 x 800 meter medley in a satisfying 2:39 minutes, completed the 1600 meter race in just under six minutes, and endured through the grueling 3200 (two mile) event for a applaudable 12: 10 minutes.

Although congratulated by teammates, Wynn said she did her best, blaming lack of practice and a crowded track for her imperfect performance.

Hawkins agrees with Wynn on both points, but added that Wynn and the other girls also needed to bemore aggressive on the track. "Right now, [Wynn] needs to attack," she said. "The girls are polite runners. If they see someone they can outrun, instead of outrunning them, it's like they're scared. It's like they're afraid they'll hurt the other people's feelings if they pass them."

But fear was no where in sight for Blair in the girls 500 meter medley. Senior Kim Schaerbel glided ruthlessly around the track, inching in front of her opponent in the last seconds of the race which Schaerbel completed in 1:27 minutes.

The meet today, which lasted for more than six hours, was held at the Prince Georges Sports and Learning Complex in Landover, Maryland. Today's meet was what's called a Developmental Meet designed to introduce teams to indoor track and prepare them for the actual competitions starting December 15.

Senior Julia Elliott was in the stands for all but the 55 yard dash which she completed in 5:66 minutes.After observing her teammates for five hours, Elliott concluded that the team needs to improve in certain areas.

"The whole team needs to work on opening our strides and putting everything out on the track," she said. "You should be hurting a lot when you get off the track and I know we have the abilities to do just that."