Track and field celebrates their seniors, wins division

Mackenzie Norris and Joshua Singer • May 3, 2024

Senior Joe Flynn shakes hands with head coach Bryan Hoffman during the track team’s senior day ceremony. Flynn, a football commit, will be attending Bridgewater College next year.

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Senior Ian Lopez walks down the field as he is recognized during track’s senior day ceremony. Lopez is committed to Marist College where he will throw for the track & field team and study pyschology.

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Senior Beth Fogg runs during the girls’ 1600 meter race. Fogg placed eighth in the event with a time of 6:02.99.

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Distance runners on the track team warm up before their tri-meet against Wootton and B-CC. Both the boys’ and girls’ track teams won their tri-meet on Tuesday, April 30.

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Junior Cecilia Johnson throws the shot put. Johnson’s throw of 25′ 10.25 was good enough for second in the Wildcats’ tri-meet against B-CC and Wootton.

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Senior Quinn Garrett starts the 100 meter dash. Garrett set a personal record with a time of 14.31.

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Junior Gideon Gotiangco hands the baton off to senior Alex Kallmes in the boys’ 4×800 meter relay. Gotiangco and Kallmes along with seniors Liad Simhony and Calix McCormick placed first in the race.

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Junior Jasper Goldstein stays loose in between his 4×800 and 1600 meter runs. Goldstein has been running track since his freshman year and his 1600 meter time has improved by more than 25 seconds since then.

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Track and field celebrated their senior class on Senior Night at a dual meet against B-CC and Wootton on Tuesday, April 30.

For Senior Night, track and field has a tradition of making posters for each of the seniors, highlighting which college they are going to. Seniors have the opportunity to take photos with their posters and friends.

Many students on track and field also participate in cross country during the fall and winter track and field, keeping the team relatively similar for the whole year. Therefore, the track team is very close knit, making it hard for the upperclassmen to say goodbye.

“I’m going to miss the track people; we have such an amazing community and I feel like all the distance girls are like family. I’ll miss all the random fun practices and all of our little traditions like pasta dinners and secret sister,” senior Beth Fogg said.

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The seniors take this meet to reminisce on the track and field community they have been a part of for a large part of their athletic career.

“My favorite thing about the track and field team is the people I’ve gotten close to over the years,” senior Calix McCormick said.

They also take this time to remember fond memories with the team from championships to post-run brunch.

“My favorite memory was winning Cross Country State Championships my senior year and getting to celebrate with my teammates,” senior Mackenzie Raue said.

Now that the seniors have closed out their high school career, they share the things they have learned with other athletes who wish to be successful.

“Sometimes you just need to have fun. When you play a sport this technical, you need to just have fun and not overthink anything,” senior Joe Flynn said.

Although Dual Meets are low-stake compared to the playoffs, track and field ran for their seniors securing their division win. Track and field are now Division Champions for the spring season and hope to continue their success with underclassmen stepping up to leadership positions.

“I am going to miss all of their support and encouragement and also being able to do all my runs and workouts with them, but I am looking forward to leading the underclassmen and motivating them to do their best,” junior Megan Raue said.

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About the Contributors

Mackenzie Norris, Print Sports Editor

Senior Mackenzie Norris is excited to particpate in her first year with the Pitch as Print Sports Editor and Business Manager. In addition to writing for the Pitch, Mackenzie enjoys representing WJ on the softball field with some of her best friends and teammates.

Joshua Singer, Print Editor-in-Chief

Senior Joshua Singer is elated to be returning as Print Editor-in-Chief in his fourth year on The Pitch. Josh began his career with The Pitch during the second semester of his freshman year as a staff writer before becoming Print Sports Editor his sophomore year and Print Editor-in-Chief his junior year. Josh generally writes for the sports and news sections and has covered topics ranging from WJ's gender distribution in AP classes to school safety issues to profiles on athletes and coaches. As a junior, Josh co-created The Pitch Radio Network, which broadcasts WJ sports live at wjpitch.mixlr.com. This past summer, Josh attended the Medill-Northwestern Journalism Institute where he enhanced his journalistic skills with the goals of making his senior year his best yet and furthering his career aspirations in journalism. During his free time, Josh enjoys running, playing guitar and announcing sports.