With the outdoor track season in full swing, the Schreiber High School Track and Field squads have been preparing for an exciting weekend at the Penn Relays. The University of Pennsylvania played host to this event from April 23 to April 25. Both teams were looking to represent Port Washington in one of the most competitive high school competitions in track and field. Coach Nicole Dumpson led the boys on their second consecutive trip while Coach Jeremiah Pope and the girls team competed for their fourth straight year.
Despite losing 12 seniors from last year’s championship team, the boys have done surprisingly well up to this point in the season. “Coming back, we weren’t sure if we be able to do that again,” said Dumpson. “Everyone has definitely stepped up. My seniors have stepped up tremendously and my captains are awesome. We’re doing a good job so far.”
The boys’ team had qualified to run the 4×100 and 4×400 races at the event. While their 4×800 met the qualifying standards, they did not poll in the top 35. As a result, they were excluded from that event.
Their aim was to break the school records, but they came up short in achieving those goals. On Friday, April 24, the boys raced in the 4×100, and finished with a time of 46.37, placing them 202th, with a ranking of 365th. The next day, they geared up for the 4×400 race, and they finished eighth with a 3:37:61 time and ranked 355th.
Captains Steven Lopez, a senior, and Andrew Adelhardt, a junior, were looking for strong outings at the relays. “I was hoping we’d break 45 or anything below that,” said Lopez.
“We would like to break the school record of 3:32:06,” said Adelhardt.
Despite the boys coming up short, they still ran respectable times.
The girls, with Coach Pope at the helm, got to the relays through hard work, dedication and consistency. The girls have been to the relays for several years and know what to expect from the big event. They have also qualified for the 4×100 and 4×400 races. Both of these races took place on Thursday, April 23.
In the 4×100 race, the girls finished in 111th place with a time of 52.13 and were ranked 206th. As for the 4×400, they won the race with an impressive time of 4:03:77, which ranked them 37th.
“You have to have a certain amount of girls who are the fastest and most dedicated to earn a spot at the Penn Relays,” said Pope. “It’s a great opportunity to run with faster girls and other girls outside New York and the U.S.”
The girls once again were successful and broke the school record in the 4×400 race. They earned a medal for the second straight year.
“It was very emotional,” said Pope. “I knew they were going to do great, but I didn’t expect them to go out there and win it.”
Once the girls got to the second leg, there was no turning back and they retained the lead for the rest of the race. Jenny Aguiar, Beatriz Chavarria, Laura Russo and Christina Marinelli represented Schreiber in this event.
Senior Captain Aguiar, who has been with the team since eighth grade was looking to reach the standards for states and nationals, while setting some personal records.
“I was hoping our 4×4 team could run as close as possible to 4:05 or better,” said Aguiar. “That would be the qualifying standards for nationals.”
Senior Captain Russo competed in both the 4×1 and 4×4 races. She set her sights on breaking 50 seconds for the 4×1 and reaching a qualifying time in the 4×4.
With the Penn Relays in the rearview mirror, the boys and girls track and field teams looked forward to their next meet, the Port Washington Invitational on Friday, May 1. It is the longest running invitational in the country and brings the teams and the community together to celebrate a senior sendoff filled with track and field, food and fun.
