By MANALE ZOUHIR
Year to year, Malden High School’s girls indoor track program has stayed the same, but this year is like no other. Sophomore and varsity member Victoria Hannafin stated: “There [are] definitely a lot more girls than last year.” This year the team seems more energetic and together. Freshman sprinter Michelle Chung confessed, “When I first joined the track team, I was surprised about how spirited everyone was. We would always be rooting for each other at meets or just in practice, and cheering each other on. I didn’t expect for us to be that close-knit, especially since [it is] such an individual sport.” The first meet against Everett, held in the Salemwood middle school gym on Dec. 12, 2012 was an easy win for the girls.
There have also been invitationals, where individuals had the opportunity to qualify for the Division 1 state meet. Freshman sprinter Carine Exume, along with junior Jacqueline Bouley, and senior Blue and Gold member Lauren Benoit, are the only three girls to qualify for the state meet so far, an impressive accomplishment as it is only the beginning of a long season. Exume, her first time qualifying, said, “It [felt] amazing… with some support and belief from my teammates, I did the one thing that I convinced myself that I could never do, and that was qualify for states.”
The team recently had a meet on Jan. 11, 2013, against Lowell Catholic, a school that has a first year track program. Although the meet did not count in their records, the coaches feel that it was good practice for the girls, especially since they are just coming off a four week meet break due to vacation. The MSTCA Division 1 state relays were just one day after on Jan. 12, 2013, in which the girls met coach Londino’s high expectations for the several relays he put together. The girl’s 4×4 relay qualified for states. The next GBL meet the team is preparing for is against Cambridge Rindge and Latin High School, a tough matchup for the team, but the girls are optimistic for the challenge.
As opposed to last year, the girls MHS track team are full of energy for the meets coming up. So far it has been a great season of hard-workers who are clearly extremely determined. With team members like this, it is a given that the rest of the season will hold nothing but success for MHS girls track team.
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