Under the guidance of their head coach, David Londino, the Malden High School boys track team continues to make their school proud. With a current record of 3-0, the team has made strong defeats against Everett, Medford and Chelsea. Assistant coaches Jason Payeur and Chris Kaulbfleisch have worked consistently with the sprinters and throwers of the team to contribute to the successful season thus far.
Coach Londino prides himself for coaching both the boys and the girls teams, for all three consecutive running seasons (cross country, indoor track, and outdoor track). The “continued effort towards bettering themselves and the team as a whole” is what encourages Coach Londino to continue being their coach. In 2014, Coach Londino was awarded the “Division 1 Coach of the Year” title.
Once junior Gutémberg Peixoto Dos Santos joined the team, he realized that being apart of the track team is more than simply staying active. Santos confesses that since he has been on the team he has come to the realization that “running helps [him] forget about other problems in [his] life,” which is something many of the runners on the team can relate to. After constantly being pushed by his coach, in order to reach his full potential, Santos has become a great help to the team, seeing how in every race “[he leaves] it all on the track.” For the rest of the season, Santos will continue working to run a qualifying time to compete in the states meet for his main event, the 600 meter race.
Despite the loss of “a number of state level qualified seniors,” expressed the coach, the team has continued to work hard, remaining undefeated. Seniors Kingdolphe Julien, whose main event is the 300 meter race, and Mark Ortiz, the top shot put thrower, have both stepped up this year, setting a good example for the underclassmen and assuming leadership positions through working hard at practice and giving their all to every performance in every meet.
The team goal is to “be competitive and win the league championship,” expresses Coach Londino. Along with working to achieve the team goal, Coach Londino makes efforts to achieve individual goals for members of the team, one of them being to “qualify for the state meet.”
Looking ahead in the season, the team will soon face Greater Lawrence Tech and Somerville. Both of these competing teams have talented members, explaining why Coach Londino expects these two meets to have “a great number of match ups.” The boys continue to train and prepare for the upcoming meets and take advantage of opportunities to qualify for states.
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