NPHS Track races towards New York
On March 12 and 13, several track and field runners made their way to nationals in New York to compete against different high schools in the nation. Six NPHS students participated in different events, including the 4xMile relay, a 2 mile championship race, a mile race and an 800 meter. Running 16:29.31 in the relay, Colin Sahlman, senior, Aaron Sahlman, Leo Young and Lex Young, juniors, were able to come out victorious.
In order to reach nationals, the team must be invited by those who host the event. “They basically just invited us because they wanted us to bring some attention into the race and stuff. So we’re like, okay, I guess we’ll just do our four by four mile and then it worked out well,” Leo Young said.
Preparing for nationals took long and hard work. “We do all of our workouts on a track. We’re training for either a mile or two mile, [and in comparison to cross country,] everything is usually a little bit shorter,” Leo Young said.
In order to perform well in the race, each runner must be in the right mindset. “Anything can happen during the meet. So you just have to be prepared physically and mentally, and [not] think about anything else. Just think about your race, and then just make sure you feel good,” Aaron Sahlman said.
Another big component for the team was to focus on their individual selves. “Our mindset going into the race was to stay calm and relaxed and focus on our individual race. We wanted to go out hard and close hard which we did very well,” Colin Sahlman said.
Following the race, the team’s morale was high. “We celebrated by doing a victory lap with the crowd cheering and giving high fives…It [also] feels amazing setting a new national record with this team. We continue to keep surprising ourselves and the nation,” Colin Sahlman said.
Once again, a new historical moment for NPHS was set, bringing pride to the team, and the school. “It’s [the race] exciting. It’s like a lot of the other races that we’ve done well in, it’s just a fun environment, ” Leo Young said.
