The Newman Indoor Track team had a brief season but made the most of it. Athletes  from cross country, volleyball, football, swimming, theatre, and more to come out and compete. After two regular-season meets, the qualifying athletes prepared for state.

The final state meet was at the LSU Maddox Field House Indoor Track. Inclimate weather and road conditions moved the meet from its normal Saturday to Sunday. The girls’ team finished 8th out of 28 teams and everyone on the team contributed to the total team scoring. Ava Hartman finished 5th and 2nd in the 1600 and 3200 respectively, Cecile Oliver tied for 5th in the pole vault, Maggie Smith was 4th in the 800 meters, our 4 x 800 relay team of Addie Lemann, Chloe Incaprera, Cameron Andrews, and Maggie Smith were 4th as well, and the evening was punctuated with a 6th place finish from the 4 x 400 team of Cecile Oliver, Mae Mae Landry, Chloe Incaprera and Addie Lemann. The boys had a successful day as well. The team finished 19th out of 32 teams with scoring coming from a fifth-place effort by the 4 x 800 team of Luke Estrada, Landry Beard, Sam Haber, and Joe Carey. Individual event scoring came from Walker Reynold’s 6th place finish in the 60-meter hurdles and Joseph Pleasant’s 4th place finish in the shot put.

I interviewed sophomore Maggie Smith who ran the 800, earning a new PR, and helped her 4×800 team place 4th. When asked about the team’s performance at the meet she said: “All the girls did an incredible job and I couldn’t be more proud of our team.” Although the season was short, Maggie thought “everyone worked hard this season and it paid off for state.” With the outdoor season ramping up, Maggie “can’t wait for more opportunities to race.”

The outdoor season kicked off with the Patrick Ruth Relays at Joe Yenni Stadium. Maggie, again, PR’d and broke the school record in the Distance Medley Relay by 39 seconds. Other members of the relay and new school record holders included Ava Hartman, Chloe Incaprera, and Kate Drury. The season is already off to a great start following Indoor State.