Courtesy Amadeo Apolinar

Senior Alessandro Marenco, sophomore Kaius Green, juniors Amadeo Apolinar and Jack Fiening sport their silver medals after finishing second in the 4x400m relay at states. The squad will soon be heading up to New York for Nike Indoor Nationals, where Fiening will also compete in the 800m after winning the race at states.

The indoor track team closed out their season at the MPSSAA Indoor State Championships on Feb. 17, where they broke more records and achieved even more success. The team was also coming off strong performances at their previous three meets, building momentum into the home stretch of the season.

Starting with the MCPS County Championships on Wednesday, Jan. 21, junior Jack Fiening won the 800m and placed 3rd in the 500m, while junior Sydney Walsh placed fourth in her 500m race. The boys’ placed fourth in the 4x400m and third in the 4x800m relays, whereas the girls’ teams placed sixth in the 4x400m and seventh in the 4x800m.

“I think counties and regionals both went pretty good and set me and the team up really well for states,” Walsh said. “I was very nervous before states because It was my first time going for an individual event. But, we were working really hard that week, so I felt prepared.”

Despite the team facing a short turnaround going into the less significant Last Track to Philly meet on Saturday, Jan. 24, a squad composed of sophomore Kaius Green, junior Amadeo Apolinar and seniors Grant Levens and Jeremy Silberglied won the 4x800m Penn relay. For the girls, freshman Alexis Spencer finished third in the mile and ran alongside junior Lily Bienfang, seniors Audrey Blake and Annie Linkie to finish second in the girls’ 4x800m relay. 

The team’s next test and their last before states was the MPSSAA 4A West Region Championships on Feb. 2, where they continued to dominate mid-distance races. Fiening won both the 800m and 500m races, with Apolinar placing not far behind him in fifth, and Walsh won the girls’ 500m race. As for relays, Apolinar and Fiening went on to win the 4x400m relay alongside Green and senior Alessandro Marenco, and the girls’ squad also placed second in their 4x200m relay. 

“I think the team was feeling pretty confident knowing where they were in the rankings after coming off really good placements and speeds at regions,” distance coach Alexis Phares said. “Sometimes, going into championship season, especially a meet like states, people can kind of get in their head sometimes if they haven’t been before or it’s a new event. I was not expecting certain places or times; I was just expecting a good effort and whatever they could give that day.

The highlight of states for the Wildcats was Fiening winning the 800m with a new school record of 1:57.18. This achievement cannot be understated, especially considering that Fiening is primarily a soccer player who hadn’t even run the 800m before this year and is now a state champion.

“Before the 800m race, I was mentally preparing for what I thought the race was gonna be like. During the race, I was planning what moves to make. After the race, I was very excited and just happy that I won,” Fiening said. “I think with enough hard work put in, it will pay off and you can achieve anything.”

In the 500m race, Fiening finished third with a time of 1:06.05, re-breaking his own school record of 1:06.85. Walsh also broke the girls’ school record as she finished fifth with a time of 1:18.95. High placements continued into the relays, as those same respective relay squads from regionals this time finished second in the 4x400m, setting a new school record, and also second in the 4x800m. The boys’ team accrued 32 points, earning them fourth place overall.

“I went a lot faster than I thought I could in the 500m, so I was very happy with that race,” Fiening said. “I probably could have run a little bit faster and pushed myself more in the 4x800m relay because
I wasn’t fully focused on that race; I was more focused on my other races and saving my energy for them.”

These impressive results mostly conclude what has been a great season for the boys and promising showings from a rebuilding year for the girls. However, despite outdoor track tryouts just happening and that season starting soon, Fiening and the 4x400m relay squad of Marenco, Green and Apolinar will be heading to New York for Nike Indoor Nationals from Thursday, March 12, to Saturday, March 15.

“There were a lot of ups and downs with all the snowstorms and we lost a lot of practice time, but overall, I think it was a good season that was competitive and fun,” Phares said. “We still have a lot of talent to cultivate,
meaning that there are a lot of athletes who don’t even realize the hidden talent that they have. So going into the outdoor season, I think it’s going to be really fun to see all that everyone can do.”