Southern Lehigh track and field athletes are not slowing down in the winter. The winter track and field team is running, throwing, and jumping straight through the cold temperatures. Some athletes use this time to prepare themselves for the upcoming spring season, while others use it to develop fundamental skills, or even break school records.
The boys and girls track and field teams have been very successful throughout Coach Cotie Strong’s career as head coach. Last year, both teams went undefeated in the Colonial League, finishing 11-0 in their spring season. However, since then, the team has suffered a significant loss of graduates compared to last year, including Jack Inglis, Alex Lea, Morgan Pera, Raquelle Riggins, and Ella Sarnitsky, who all now compete at the collegiate level.
Despite this heavy graduation loss, the team is still running strong. Rising seniors and new members of the team have stepped up to fill in for the void for a new era of track and field.
New senior captains for the 2024-2024 winter season are paving the way for the team. Girls’ captains include seniors Faith Schiffer, Tessa Di Cesare, and Ella Kimmel, and boys’ captains are seniors Gregory Rubino, Peter Jones, and Noah Tapler.
The boy’s distance medley relay team, also called the DMR, consisting of sophomore Miles Etters (1200m), freshman Jack Pavis (400m), senior Peter Jones (800m), and senior Gregory Rubino (1600m), broke the school record February 3rd with a time of 11 minutes and 7 seconds, beating the record by four seconds. In the DMR relay, Greg Rubino’s 1600m split claimed a school record title as well, crushing the previous one.
“As teammates, we support each other during competitions by offering words of encouragement, cheering each other on, and providing motivation before and after races,” said Rubino. “Knowing that our teammates have our backs makes a huge difference in performance and confidence.”
The girls’ side has had their own set of accomplishments too, with Faith Schiffer consistently breaking her own records in the 55m and 60m hurdles.
“I stay motivated through the season because I know that there is always something I can do better. This makes me want to work harder because I strive for improvement all the time,” said Schiffer. “Even if I run my best time, I can always find something in my race that was ‘sloppy’ or could be fixed, and that’s great because then I can go back to practice and focus to reach my higher potential.”
However, all of this success has not come easily. Training in the winter presents many challenges, such as weather and facility availability.
“We don’t have an indoor facility,” said Coach Strong. “[We also only have] two coaches per 65 athletes.”
Despite practicing in harsh conditions and having to make do with what they have, the track team still finds ways to prevail and make every day enjoyable.
“I try to keep it fun. It can be pretty miserable out there and there’s times we push them to go out and say let’s be tough and go out,” said Coach Strong. “[I’m] lucky that I have a motivated team.”
Through all of the challenges the team has faced, they have always stayed resilient and flexible. The team believes beyond a doubt that they have what it takes to succeed as they wind down their season and prepare for the heavily anticipated spring track and field season.
