Girls’ indoor track continued their dominance on Thursday, February 8, winning the 4A West Division Regional Championships with 97 points, 15 more than second place Northwest HS. The boys’ team took eighth place at regionals, earning 24 points.

Senior captain Abigail Green kept up her amazing running, once again winning the 800 meter run, 1600 meter run and 3200 meter run. WJ girls took the top three spots in the 3200 as well as the top two in the 1600. Sophomore Jenna Goldberg placed second and senior captain Janet Scott finished third in the 3200, while freshman Ella Gaul took second place in the 1600. Sophomore sprinter Ally Hilligoss finished strong and got second in the girls 300 meter dash while fellow sprinter and junior Erin Henderson earned second in the girls 55 meter dash.

However, it wasn’t just the individual runners who did well at regionals. Senior captain Toni Koroye got fourth in the girls shot put and multiple relay teams did well. The girls 4×800 relay squad finished at the top with Gaul and Scott alongside juniors Helena Abbott and Adrienne Bruch. Additionally, the girls 4×400 relay team and the girls 4×200 relay group got third and fourth respectively.

Working together as a team, even in an individual sport like track, is always one of the most important parts of any sport, and teamwork can help a team achieve victory. Scott emphasizes the importance of teamwork on WJ’s track team.

“I think one of the main things that pushed us to victory is the closeness of the team,” Scott said. “A tendency for track teams is to have a division between the sprinters and distance runners, but we didn’t let that happen this year. We’re all good friends and we always push each other, cheer for each other and support each other. We won because we did it together.”

After winning regionals, the track team moves on to the Maryland State Championships on February 20 in Landover, MD.

“We’re preparing for states by keeping the training at a high intensity and just working together,” Scott said. “Now that we have this win under the belt, I think it’s going to be a huge motivation to try to place at states and we’re just going to try to focus on that winning feeling and have it push us forward.”

All the hard work indoor track has put forth this season to reach their goal is starting to pay off. As the state championships approach, they’re looking to get better than ever.