T is for Track TEAM

T is for Track TEAM

Track season is almost over, and when it ends in May of 2010, so too will end a very special run for some VERY special Springville Oriole women. For the past three years, Seniors Brittany Clarke, Mattea Otten, April Coppess & Courtney Ruzicka, with hard work and determination, have set their own bar and led by example. These SHS seniors, along with Juniors Sydney Vaughn and Hannah Loehr, via consistency and commitment to harder workouts plus an unselfish willingness to run the relays or open that will best help their team, have shown underclassmen that there really IS a “team” out there on the track. Creating an atmosphere that has produced some underclassman standouts, their legacy will be left not only in school records but also in the standards their younger teammates now set for themselves.

From 2008 to 2010 The Oriole Women have set 6 records. Let me repeat that for emphasis…in two years, seven girls have between them set SIX records at SHS.

*In 2008/2009 the 4x100 record was broken and re-broken, multiple times by the relay team of Mattea Otten, Sydney Vaughn, Sarah Thies, and Brittany Clarke, culminating in a record (so far) of 51.07 (2009 State Meet Prelims).

*In 2009 the 36 year old Sprint Medley record fell to Sydney Vaughn, April Coppess, Sarah Thies and Brittany Clarke at the Tri Rivers Conference meet, then again at State finals where a 1:52.54 gave the team the 4th place medal.

* In 2010, at the Marion Invitational, Mattea Otten, April Coppess, Sydney Vaughn and Brittany Clarke put their names on another record, setting the 4x200 bar at 1:49.46.

*In 2010 Brittany Clarke bested her own record in the 400 Meter Run with a time of 58.71 at the Tri-Rivers Conference Meet.

*In 2010 Freshman Angie Hoogland stepped up to the challenge and set new records in both the 1500 meter run at Ed Co, and the 3000 meter run at the Tri Rivers Conference meet. 

Still within their grasp is the Distance Medley, and though time is short, and it's not a sure thing, it's a goal to strive for and not an impossible one for this group of fearless athletes to reach….look for this record to fall before the sun sets on the 2010 Track season.  Better yet, come out and watch the Orioles fly, Friday evening at the District meet in Brooklyn as they make it their goal to take home gold and solidify several medal worthy spots in the State meet.

Leaving the Orioles at the end of the 2010 season will be April,  Brittany, Courtney, and Mattea…who have all run life-time bests in at least one of their events this year.  What a testament to their talent and hard work, that as seniors, they are never satisfied with what they have done...but always believe they can do better, then prove it. These young women support each other through success and mistakes, encouraging each other, and pushing each other...a lesson they they leave to thier young classmates - a true team concept where we are all in this together.  The understanding that no matter what, they are a team. Despite very different personalities, they can & do make it work -  make it happen -  meet after meet, fearlessly giving it all they have, regardless of the class they are running against…because we DO run against much bigger classes in almost every meet…and even though it doesn't always go perfectly, they somehow pull out a top 3 finish time after time, as they keep the clock ticking away at their own records.

In sleet, snow, wind, cold, rain, heat, more wind, and the occasional nice day, the upperclassmen have been the backbone of the Orioles track team, always providing moral support for the new or younger members of the team, setting the example, and the bar, for performance, team spirit, determination, sportsmanship and compassion. The Orioles Sprint events have been nothing short of spectacular, with Mattea proving herself to be a true team player, giving up many opportunities to run hurdles, (her personal passion, and an event she has qualified individually for at State) in order to provide the strong fast start & stride that helped propel many a relay to a gold medal. Brittany is a force to be reckoned with in any sprint event she steps up to run, moving from the "I don't run 400's" girl to becoming one of the top ten 400 runners in the state. April has turned into a completely different runner in the course of two years, stepping in to fill very big 4x100 shoes, and doing it without hesitation...our relays wouldn't be as successful without her. Sydney has been the "little girl who could" runner, flying past her competitors in whatever  leg of whichever relay the coach assigned her to run. It's been a tremendous three year run, and we've been privileged to be a part of it, in the spectator seats.  There will always be a very special place in our hearts for the Oriole women who broke that 36 year old record and made the sun come out on a rainy night!

BUT…….. the end of one era is always only the beginning of another, and lurking in the shadows of the upperclassmen are young athletes like Angie, Emily, Kayla, Hailey, Whitney, Carly, Holly & Erin....who show great promise…...so, though we bid a fond and reluctant farewell to our seniors, the T still stands for Team and we will still be seeing those flashes of Black & Orange in 2011 at SHS!

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