Saturday, Mar. 5 marked the third track meet for the New Trier Girls Track team since the beginning of the new season.

The meet took place at York High School in Elmhurst with the field events beginning at 9AM and the running events at 10AM.

  As this is only the third meet, it might seem difficult to determine how well the team is doing. According to both coaches and students, however, the team continues to improve a great deal with every competition.

Saturday’s meet earned the team various titles along with the many records they broke both for the school and individually.

One of the most significant wins of the morning was the Varsity Team coming in second place out of six teams with a score of 105, only three points behind the winning team. Senior captain Isabelle Robbins was part of the team that won the 4×200 meter relay; she described the excitement and pride she felt for her team, “[despite not winning by only three points], we showed our depth and had a lot of strong performances in the field events, sprints, relays, and the distance races,” she said.

Coach Jamie Klotz, who primarily coaches the jumpers, was also excited about the successful meet.

“The meet went very well for the Lady Trevians,” he said. With different team members participating in every phrase from the very beginning, the school was surely represented.

In terms of distance running, Freshman Caroline Trunkenbrod set a new school record for the indoor Junior Varsity mile by over ten seconds, running 1600 meters in 5:23.3 seconds.

Senior Tara Smart not only tied with senior Nikki Lamagno in the 55 meter dash to break another varsity school record, but also set her own varsity record for the indoor 200 meter dash, beating the previous one by over one second.

Of course, setting a school or even state record isn’t the only goal  for runners. Most athletes agree that being in a sport is also about setting personal records and acheiving personal growth. Senior Erin Kunkler jumped 4’10”, setting a new individual record for herself and for the team; “I couldn’t have done it without the support of my teammates and my coaches,” she said.

In any sort of competition, support from fellow teammates and coaches is just as important as physical preparedness. Kunkler explained  why the Varsity 4×4 relay team was the highlight of the meet for her.

“Since the 4×4 is the last event, the whole team gets together and cheers on all of the runners. It is an amazing experience to see everyone come together and support one another,” she said.

So with all of these achievements, what’s next for the Girls Track Team? Well, with all their success at previous meets, especially this most recent one, the runners are motivated to continue to work hard and improve. “I believe this competition will help us, as a team, work harder than before and strive to be the best we can be,” said Kunkler.

After another successful competition, the DGS Relay, held this last Monday, March 7, coaches and runners alike are preparing for the last big indoor meet of the season. 

The CSL South Meet at Glenbrook South is scheduled for Thursday, March 17. “Our goal is to win the meet on both levels,” said Head Coach Robert Spagnoli.

As for how this dedication will impact the runners, Klotz is optimistic and excited to see the girls not only currently improving but to see how this experience will impact their future.

“Our ladies are learning to compete and finish races well.  This bodes well for the future when we go outside. I think the coaching staff believes that our total program is moving in a positive direction and the sky is the limit,” said Klotz.