Girls Track Gets the Gold

Last Friday and Saturday, Girls Outdoor Track won their Regional Meet and got second place at the Maryland State Championships. The Blake girls performed exceptionally well, winning the 4×400 Meter Relay and getting fifth place in the 4×800 Meter Run.

Outdoor Track coach and Math teacher Mr. Oxley states that the Regionals were “record-setting,” and that he was glad that the girls “were able to execute for two days, which is not easy, [especially since it was the] day of prom.”

Mr. Oxley adds that at States, “the stars [aligned],” since the girls won the “most gold medals of any team.”

It was a “perfect meet,” Mr. Oxley exclaims, “but another school also had a perfect meet [and won]. I don’t mind.”

The success of Blake can be attributed to individuals such as Mame Diop, who got second place in the Triple Jump and fourth place in the Long Jump. Also, Gabrielle Franklin got third place in the 300 Meter Hurdles, and Sierra Swangin got fourth place in the High Jump.

Ella Ziegler got first place in the 800, 1600, and 3200 Meter Run. She contributes her success partially to “having a better racing mindset … A big part of running is mental, and I think going into races with a positive, excited mind helped me a lot.”

As Ziegler plans to continue running track in college, some goals she has “are to continue to lower my times and hopefully help my college team earn points at conference, regionals, and [hopefully even nationals]!!”

She is very likely to accomplish her last goal based on her performance last weekend.

According to Mr. Oxley, Ziegler “scored 30 of our 90 points” last weekend, so her going to college is a big loss, but “not impossible to overcome.”

Ziegler will miss Blake Track as well.

Blake’s “track team has definitely built who I am as a runner and person because I am a captain and leader on the team. It encourages me to help others and lead by example. And of course, the support we have at Blake track leads to the success of everyone!”

One of these other people is Brooke Cochran, who got second place in the 100 and 200 Meter Dash Preliminaries and won the Finals for both races.

Cochran contributes her success at these meets to “stretching, icing and being open to feedback from coaches … Also … the support of my family, coaches, and teammates. They really help to keep me on track and [stay] focused towards working to my goals.”

Fortunately, Cochran plans “to continue running for the rest of my high school career … I am also trying to reach my goals of running under 25 seconds in the 200 [Meter Dash] and breaking 12 seconds in the 100 [Meter Dash].”

Cochran is also “looking forward to making new school records in my junior year and of course, having fun!”

“People” like Cochran need “to step up and come” join Track next year, according to Mr. Oxley. In addition, he hopes to “diversify [the] team [as there are] … a couple of holes we are looking to fill [up].”