MacDonald stadium welcomes Malden’s Outdoor Track and Field team for yet another season full of energy and dedication.
The season officially began on March 16th, kicking off the season with a variety of new faces and determined returning players excited to create lasting memories, set new personal records, and reach the team to state championships. Just a few weeks later, runners and throwers would feel ready enough to make their debut or comeback this season in a meet against Lynn English.
The stadium was sunny with a blistering wind that washed confidence over the team. People huddled, began to make their way to the field to warm up, and wandered prior to the meet officially starting.
With all of the commotion occurring on the field, participants and families could see themselves over to the field house for a quick bite. Two bakesales were held–one hosted by the track team and one hosted by the student council for the Class of 2027, where the team sold homemade baked goods and the council sold savory snacks and drinks any athlete would crave after their event.
As always, the meet began with hurdle events proceeding first. Sophomore Mirka Kovacevic-Marinkovic started the meet with the 400m hurdle event, representing Malden; she finished in 1:18, leaving a 25.4 gap between her Lynn English opponent. Senior Logan Johnson also ran the 400m hurdles, finishing in 1:14.
Outdoor track tends to shine a light on field events, as they are major and center during these competitions. New and returning faces participated in high jump, long jump, and throwing events. They happen simultaneously with track events; blink and you might miss it.
Kovacevic-Marinkovic and freshman Taya Rubin-Wilson both represented Malden for the girls’ high jump events. Representing the boys were sophomores Nathan Schonton, successfully jumping 5 feet and Raphael Kinuthia.
Being one of the few girls that competes in jumping events, Kovacevic-Marinkovic felt that overall, all of her events went “pretty well”, and she’s “excited to see what the rest of the season brings for high jump hurdles and sprinting events.”
Malden’s throwers found great success in their events, placing highly and landing many personal bests. For Javelin, Malden took first place, with junior Aya Tafraoui throwing 63 feet and 9 inches, and junior Joshua Mini throwing a whopping 120 feet. For boys’ discus, all three Malden competitors threw anywhere from 65-120 feet, with Mini taking first place once again. For girls, 42-83 feet, with sophomore Neitsy Philome placing first. Last, but not least, for Shot Put, sophomore Julius Scott placed first for boys throwing 38 feet. Girls threw anywhere from 11-30 feet, with Philome placing first once more.
Taking off with the two-mile, senior Distance Captain Lincoln Boswell took off solo, instilling onlookers with a sense of awe as he persevered through arguably the most mentally tasking event in track for his fourth year, finishing in 11:53.
In a flash, 100m runners of all grades dashed down the track’s straight, with freshman Khadijah Diagne and junior Akre Akre running 11.6 and 11 seconds, respectively. Each competitor ran a tight race with no obvious gaps.
Following the 100m race, more distance folks made their way to their event for the 1 mile. For boys, Evan Souders ran a 5:59 mile, coming in second place for the event but first for Malden. For girls, junior Distance Captain Keira Celicourt ran a 6:50 mile, winning the first place title for the mile.
Being a freshman in a new space, especially when it comes to high school sports can be difficult to navigate. To put yourself out there and run a difficult race is an achievement every 9th grader should value and be proud of themselves for. Freshman Tyler Ho ran the 1 mile for the first time in an Outdoor season, having an “all right start, but I got better over time.” He finished with a great time of 6:40.
The 4x100m relay race followed the mile, an exciting event that blows away those on the edge of the field watching. Malden was a solo competitor, with the boys running 45.4, a personal best for the team. The girls finished in 53.5, acquiring first place and beating two Lynn English relay teams.
The hurdles were dragged back onto the track for the 100m hurdle race, where sophomore Lyra Heining and freshman Ruth Mekonnen both ran the event for the first time. The girls took first and second place, making times of 21.6 and 21.7, respectively.
The two mile has one major competitor for the most “grueling” race in track: the 400m race. Sufficient of one lap around Macdonald Stadium, the sprint breaks many runners because of the consistency required to be as fast as possible while keeping a stable pace, on top of saving enough energy to go all out at the end. The boys for Malden ran as one, with senior Raphael Sanchez Martinez taking first place for them with a time of 56.5.
Celicourt reflected that for her first home meet, she felt “really nervous but excited since it was the first one.” During the meet, there was confusion among events due to athletes that couldn’t participate last minute or were absent, leading to a commotion where some runners had more than one difficult event to run. Celicourt continued that she “had to run a lot of races so that was really nerve-racking, but we took pictures! We had a lot of fun and I brought food, so that was amazing.”
The 800m was next. Evan Souders finished first for Malden yet again, running in 2:45. His teammates ran times between 2:52-3:16, all demonstrating great determination. Junior Distance Captain Angela Lam finished in first place for the girls’ 800m race, finishing in 2:59.
Junior Ryan Huang returned to the track team for the first time since last year’s Outdoor season, he felt unconfident in his performance for the 800m. He expressed that “it was kind of cold that day and like the conditions weren’t that good for running. I felt like it wasn’t warm enough. When I ran, it really hurt my legs, so it wasn’t my best performance.” Huang still did outstanding in his race, placing fourth with a time of 2:58.
For the girls’ 200m race, freshman Sabrine Harrzaguia finished first in 24.1 seconds, Heining in 25.4, and senior Christina Robinson-McCaskill in 25.7, all running personal bests with this being Harrzaguia and Heining’s first times running the event.
Last but not least, the final event of the meet was the 4x400m relay. The boys once again ran without competition, finishing in 4 minutes and 27 seconds. The girls finished in first place with a gap of almost 20 seconds, finishing in 5 minutes and 4 seconds.
The meet brought great success for everyone involved. It was many newcomers’ first time in a chaotic space where they feel the adrenaline, smell the gunpowder, and breathe in a crisp, cold air before they put their bodies to their maximum. These experiences followed the team to their second meet on April 13th and their Mercury Games Invitational Meet on April 23rd that occurred over break.
Malden High’s Outdoor Track team will continue to grow and evolve as the season progresses and the meets near their end, allowing the team to have a fast start and finish strong.
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