re info about this years track team..from S kyser

[andrea]

Class ..this is a note from Stephanie Kyser who is the coach of the track team and wanted for parents to see what was going on with the team this year. 

take a look...

a otero 

Dear Track Families,

Hello Spring Break! Day 3 of our week long odyssey is complete, and I must say, our kids demonstrated a tremendous amount of poise, strength and stamina considering their novice experience and tender years. Having the boys and girls team combined for the first time was quite fun and added a depth of support for one another that I am excited to see blossoming. 

Let's see those results!

Caden, operating with a sore leg, dashed to a personal record in the 100m with a time of 16.56. He also utterly smashed his best shot put throw by over 5 feet with a toss of 14' 3.5" 

Andres turned in some stellar performances and gathered a PR in the 400m dash with a time of 1:24.48! He threw the discus 6 feet farther that Tuesday's best with a heave of 52 feet, and his throw in the shot put was 5 inches further than his previous best with a mark of 18' 1.5" WOW!!!!

Joaquin, recovering from an upper leg muscle pull, posted 3 shocking performances. In his first discus competition he threw 59' 5.5" and placed 6th among all middle schoolers. He also ran the 100m and placed 8th with a time of 14.04, even though two weeks ago he told his coach, "I can't sprint." (My insightful reply, "yes, you can.") He saved his best individual performance for last, when he dashed to a 7th place finish in the 800m run with a PR of 2:56.39. (More about this race below!) 

Leander also had a superb day in the long jump with a leap of 10' 6.5" A personal record! With his teammate Joaquin, the boys ran a perfectly executed 800 run. Their strategy was to run together, with a conservative pace for the first 200m. As the gun went off, the other competitors dashed away, burning off their fuel tanks in comet-like fashion, while our young wolves bided their time. After reaching the 200 meter mark and hearing their splits, they settled in, running patiently stride by stride as the other runners began tie up and feel the burn of lactic acid in their already tiring muscles. Reaching the halfway mark ahead of their target pace, the boys braced themselves for the wall of wind on the next 200m by catching up to a young man in green. They tucked in and waited, conserving their energy as the guy in green unwittingly blocked the wind for them. As the 600m mark approached, they pounced as a team, passing the guy on the curve, then shot out ahead to let the wind carry them past another competitor as he lagged from exhaustion. Feeling renewed energy as they dashed down the back straightaway, both Leander and Joaquin sprinted home in record time. Leander's effort earned him an 8th place finish, and he improved his time from two days ago by  remarkable 17 seconds! SEVENTEEN!!!! Un. real.

The boys last event was the 800 medley relay. Major kudos goes out to Andres in his efforts during the relay after racing the 400m in gut-wrenching form. Thank you, Andres, for your team commitment!

The girls were no less spectacular and turned in outstanding performances as well.

Our three 6th graders, Sat Kartar, Rebecca and Tara, with only two days of triple jump event practice ever, leapt well beyond anyone's expectation. Sprinting down the runaway, hopping and leaping on one leg, then jumping off the other, they attained the rare feat of gaining marks at their first meet. Hannah Laga Abram, our state qualifying high schooler was shocked. "I'm shocked," she said, "truly shocked." Their all-knowing coach never had doubts, as they received marks of 22'6" (Tara), 22'4" (SatKartar) and 21' 10" (Rebecca). All of Rebecca's jumps were legal and all three girls placed in the top 8. And they are in 6th grade. SIXTH!

Sat Kartar also sprinted the 100m dash in a personal best of 14.49, besting several 7th and 8th graders in her heat.

Tristen performed in the long jump with a leap of 9'4". and she put in an incredible personal effort in the 1600m run in 8:23 and earning 9th place and a personal record. More below!

Rebecca also ran the 1600m with Tristen, which was their first attempt at that distance. As planned, the girls started off together at the gun and settled in calmly, with nice long strides and even breathing. It's a 6 to 8 minute dash, so the racers must possess immense mental stamina to even finish. At about the half-way point, Tristen suffered from severe side cramps, her muscles firing and twisting in pain. Did she give up and let the track demons win the day? Heaven's no, not our Tristen. With a prizefighter-like persistence, she hung in there, giving every ounce of strength to the event and even sprinted on the back straightaway for a solid  9th place.Rebecca's time of 7:50 earned her a 7th place place finish, and although she didn't have the cramping issues of Tristen, she experienced the anguish of a teammate's dilemma. With Tristen suffering, Rebecca had to make the difficult choice of staying with her teammate and supporting her or running ahead, letting her body dictate her own pace. It's tough out there in the heat of the competition to make such a choice. I think the camradarie and selflessness of our team makes this decision tougher, but, being the track star that she is, Rebecca made the right one: Beat Other People!!! Yes. Taking ribbons away from runners on other teams is our goal, and Rebecca dashed away (I actually told her to) with energy to spare as she completed her last lap with pep and vigor.Well done, ladies!!!!!

Caroline had a right lower issue which reared up at the beginning of the meet and jumped in the long jump off her non-dominant left leg. What? Unbelievable. Her mark of 11'4.5" secured her 5th place, and a PR for jumping goofy.

Aly had a fabulous meet and jumped to a Personal Best of 4'9" in the high jump, which basically means she can jump backwards over any 4th grader on campus without touching their head. Impressive! She also dashed to a top 6 place finish in the 100m and ran both the 4x200m relay and the 800m Medley relay. Her effort in the medley was commendable in that she was the only one able to fill out the 400m anchor leg in the meet-ending relay, which is most despised by all. Thank you, Aly!

Lucie continues to clock amazing performances, and this meet was no exception. In the long jump, she post the team's best mark of the day with a leap of 12' 2.5". This earned her 3rd place amongst all middle schoolers, including those pesky 8th graders. Her sprinting ability was put to the test in both the 100m and 200m, where she posted a personal record in the 100m with a 15.1 and dashed to time of 31.26 in the 200m to earn 6th place. This was the last event of the day on tired legs. What a performance!

Jessica entered the day with a very bad tummy-ache, but came dressed out and ready to help the team in any way. Although she would have dominated the 100 hurdles, we decided to rest her until the 4 x200m relay, which is clearly our premiere relay event for the ladies. With each runner sprinting for 200m, the gun went off with Jessica definitively leading all lanes and executing a beautiful handoff to Caroline, who, possessed by who-knows-what, absolutely owned her leg as she rounded the curve with the wind at her back. After another flawless handoff, Lucie blasted the field, gaining even more time with her long, purposeful strides, despite a headwind. Her baton exchange to Aly was nothing less than divine. Can you guess the ending? Well, wait no more. Aly dashed off with baton in hand, and crossed the finish line in what most assuredly breaks some record somewhere, with a team time of 2:04.26. Fourteen seconds later, (go ahead, count off 14 Mississippi seconds in your head), the 2nd place team finishes their race. FOURTEEN. SECONDS. 

DOMINATION!!!!

I would be remiss if I didn't give homage to Rebecca and her Medley relay teammates,Sat Kartar, Tristen and Aly. After their stunning individual performances, The ladies ran mightily in very tough field. The trick of the relay is to exchange the baton within a zone on the track, without dropping it. Also, the racers must gage their speed based on the runner coming towards them without going out too fast and outrunning them (thus missing the baton) or running too slow and having your teammate overlap you (thus losing momentum and speed). During the exchange between Rebecca and Aly, Rebecca had to make some major acrobatic adjustments to make a legal pass, which left Rebecca gashed and bleeding on the track. Although, the track trolls took a major portion of Rebecca's knee back to their lair, the team placed in the top 6 for the event! 

Kudos, to Rebecca and Team Medley!!!

Wow. I'm still tired. I hope your athlete has recovered a bit more than me. Be sure to have them continue hydrating, stretching and massaging those muscles.

Thank you to all the parents and friends who came out to help run the meet and support us on Thursday. I'll see many of you next week for practice at NMSD 4-5:30 onMonday,Wednesday, and Friday.

Truly yours,

Coach Stefanie Kyser

sky...@santafewaldorf.org

505-216-9813