On Thursday Mar. 15, girls track and field came home with a 2nd place finish at conference, and many athletes managed to break personal bests as well as school records.

During the meet against Glenbrook South, Maine South, Niles North, and Niles West, junior Sydney Kunkler broke not one, but two school records in both the long jump and the triple jump. Kunkler said that while she was walking onto the track, she felt sick and was sure that the meet wasn’t going to go as she hoped it would.

However, that didn’t hold true, as both Kunkler and her teammate broke the school record several times in just this one meet. Before Kunkler, junior Emma Kirkpatrick jumped an impressive 17’3” jump.

“I was so excited for her but I also felt like I was being challenged, in a good way,” she said. Kunkler then broke her own personal record, jumping a 17’3.5”.

Kirkpatrick followed up with a 17’5”, breaking an indoor school record. “I was excited but pressured. I jumped 17’9”, again breaking the indoor record. Emma and I were so happy we were both on the verge of tears,” said Kunkler. Kunkler and Kirkpatrick swept 2nd and 3rd in the event, respectively.

Kunkler also had a stellar performance in the triple jump, jumping to a first place finish with 35’8”, eight inches farther than the competitor in second place.

Many teammates stated that one of their favorite moments during meets is the 4x400m relay.

“Everyone gets up and circles the track.  We all do the wave as our runners pass and we chant their names. It’s a really fun and exhilarating race,” said junior Leah Ulrich.

Kunkler added that “Everyone on the 4 by 4 deserves so much recognition. The determination and strength all of them have blows me away.”

The team ran to a speedy first place finish in the 4×400 relay, with a time of 4:09.10. The relay team  comprised sophomore Bridget Forbes, juniors Emma Fowkes and Marne Sullivan, and senior Savannah Noethlich. Noethlich noted that her favorite part of the meet was competing in this particular event.

Sullivan agreed, “My favorite race is the 4×400 because it’s the last race of the meet and everyone is cheering, which really motivates my relay team.”

“When people weren’t warming up or competing in their event, they were cheering for the people competing, and that really added to the atmosphere,” said Forbes.

Ulrich came in third in the 1600m. She believes that part of the team’s success was due to their intensive training during the weeks leading up to conference.

“I can’t speak for the whole team, but my distance group had a really hard two weeks leading up to the meet.  We pounded out so many hills and track workouts with just a few recovery days, but it paid off,” said Ulrich.

Sullivan also said that team workouts “involve long sprints around the field house, outdoor runs, lifting, and stair work.”

Although Kunkler performed exceptionally well, she’s already setting her aspirations for the upcoming meets.

“Breaking the indoor LJ and TJ record was super surreal for me, but I was only a tenth of a second away from breaking the 200 meter dash indoor record. It was disappointing but also inspiring. I knew that I could run faster, and I still have another year so that will be a goal of mine.”

Noethlich is looking forward to getting her times down after running at conference.

“I’m looking to beat my PR this year, which is a 2:13 and place in the podium at state,” she said.

As the end of the indoor season is now over, the training that the team does will help prepare them prepare them for outdoor season, when they really start to notice great results, according to Ulrich.

“We hope for faster times, longer and higher jumps, and getting as many teammates to qualify for state. We have big goals in the upcoming season and I can’t wait,” said Sullivan.