Track whizzes through second meet with flying colors

The blazing track team finished first in four heats today, clearly demonstrating its impressive strength and agility to its Maryland regional rivals.

Paving the triumphant path was senior Julia Elliott who skillfully glided past opponents to win two heats, both the 300-meter-dash in 45 seconds and the 55-meter-dash in 7:45.

Senior co-captain Hayley Wynn attributed Elliott's outstanding performance to her impeccable form and running technique. "[Elliott] has nice arm and leg movement," she said. "She takes really big strides and looks so natural."

Not far in Elliott's victorious wake were senior co-captain Jossi Fritz-Mauer and junior Worku Biftu. Fritz-Mauer made a huge comeback to place first in his heat in the 1600-meter-run after beginning the race in last place, while Biftu zipped through the 500-meter-dash in a mere 1:21, leaving his competitors choking on dust.

Coach Hawkins praised Fritz-Mauer and Biftu for their accomplishments, saying the boys carried out her strategy perfectly. "They found the leaders, hunted them down, and ran strong throughout the race," she said.

In the 1600 meter-run, junior Laurel Jefferson drifted in and out of second place but dropped back in the third lap to finish seventh in her heat in 5:47.

While Jefferson was still running strong in the race, Hawkins praised her for "riding" her first place contender, saying that this tail-gating technique is an important factor in mentally defeating competitors. "[Riding] is a psychological thing," she said. "It freaks out the other runner, makes them slow down and forget about their own race. A lot of times, you can beat a person if you do that."

Wynn followed her coach's advice in the 4X800-meter-relay, trailing close behind her opponent for a good part of the race but Wynn lost her aggression after the first lap and finished the race in a moderate 2:42.

But "moderate" is precisely the problem with many team members' runs, according to Hawkins, who said that her players should be close to dead from exhaustion after their races. "When you come off that track, your legs should feel like jelly and you should want to throw up," she explained to Jefferson after the 1600-meter-run. "You should run your heart out after every race."

Today's meet was what's called a Developmental Meet designed to warm players up for the upcoming Invitational Meet on Jan 2 at the Prince George's Sports and Learning Complex.