Track and Field Meet at NEAC Recap
Ella Nestingen
This Thursday’s meet against Lakeside, Nathan Hale and Bishop Blanchet at NEAC was one to remember. The weather was fluctuating with light gusts of wind and drizzles of rain, but it did not deter any of the Bulldogs, and fantastic races were had. Although Garfield struggled to keep with Bishop Blanchet in the distance races, the Bulldogs murdered all competition in sprinting.
As always, the meet began with a roaring start for Garfield in the Women’s 4x200m relay. However, this race was particularly special because the star-studded team of Mylea Lexing, Takiyah Blue, Malia Samuels, and Lucy Richardson got a new personal record. They beat their own previous record, further asserting themselves as the best 4x200m team in the 3A state.
Although none of the top runners were in the Men's 110m hurdles, Zack Bukovec placed 4th with a new personal record of 23.02s. There were no Women’s 100m hurdles due to lack of competitors.
In the Men’s 100m dash, Sehje Jackson finished first in an extremely tight race, with him and a competitor from Lakeside less than 1/100th of a second apart, both at 11.72s. In the Women’s 100m dash, Takiyah Blue got a new personal record of 12.65s, placing her 2nd in the metro league and 7th in state. Lucy Richardson also got a personal record and placed 2nd, with 12.90s, placing her 5th in the Metro league.
The 1600m followed, which was quite nerve racking for many of the competitors. Neko Connor, one of the Bulldogs athletes discussed her feelings before her race and gave valuable insight into the mind of a long-distance runner. She said that before her races she feels, “Super anxious and like I wish I had never done track.” She said this is, “because I put all of my self-worth into my results even though they are never going to be as good as the top 7.” She was praying for a personal best, and when asked about it she said, “I’m really hoping so…” Luckily, Connor got a personal record of 6:41. The top performer in the Women’s 1600m was Ellie Wakefield, who placed 5th at 5:50.89s. The top performance in the Men’s 1600m was Aaron Johnson in 6th with 4:56.83s.
The Men’s 4x100 was an astonishing race, with Garfield leaving all competition in the dust. The team ran it in 44.04s, just 1/100th short of their best time this season. When asked about the race Tawaf Aboudou, the anchor leg, said that “I got the baton at 1st place and I kept 1st place. We all got good handoffs, and it was just a good race overall.” The Women’s 4x100 was also a great race with the Bulldog’s pulling out an easy win with 51.91s, placing them 3rd in the Metro League.
Immediately after, there was an amazing showdown in the Men’s 400m dash between Tawaf Aboudou and William Phillips Nichols. Both had strong feelings about the race and used each other to push themselves to the fullest and secure personal records. Said Nichols of the race giddily, “I PR’d!” However, he explained that “it was a 52.4, but I am not satisfied until I beat William Laird’s time.” William Laird is a runner that Nichols has a history with because Laird was top 10 in all the events, and Nichols reached out to congratulate him, but Laird blocked Nichols on Instagram. Nichols also spoke of a bet he made before the race. A guy that he had raced at a previous meet reportedly came up to him and said, “I’m gonna beat you in this 4. I’m getting revenge for last week’s 800.” And so, Nichols “made sure to make up a stagger for him in the first 100, which I regret, because I had nothing left at the end.” This came back to bite him later when, “Tawaf just swooped at the end which was kinda a little frustrating since he had just run a 4x100.” But Nichols showed nothing but love for Aboudou saying, “Power to him, man, I love to see it.” When discussing the race, Aboudou said of Nichols’ fast start that, “I was trying to pace myself, but I was also trying to get back up to him, but he was not slowing down.” When asked what caused him to outsprint Nichols in the end, Aboudou said that, “I was just pushing myself; I was like, I need it, I need to beat him. After the race, Aboudou explained, “I could not walk. I was trying to relax and it hurt. It was bad. The 400 just killed me. I don’t think I was conditioned for it.” Keep an eye on Aboudou because as he says “a lot is to come.”
In the Women’s 400m dash, freshman Jayda Lewis placed 1st with an astounding time of 1:02.88s. Lewis has recently shifted from mainly long-distance events to focusing on sprinting. She said the transition was “pretty good. It was good competition, just pushing myself a lot.” She said that short distance was “way more better!” and that “short distance has a lot more competition, but long-distance is still my sport too.” Despite this relatively recent change, Lewis ranks 4th in the Metro league for the 400m.
In the Men’s 300m hurdles, Phineas Woodland ran a season record of 43.33s, and was closely followed by Tayden Blue, who ran 43.41s. Both are ranked top 6 in the Metro League. Unfortunately, one Garfield runner was not able to finish the race due to a tumble of one of the hurdles. The anonymous hurdler declined to comment. In the Women’s 300m hurdles, Fiona Real made this year’s debut with an astonishing time of 49.87s, placing her 5th in the Metro league just after her 1st attempt. Garfield also placed 2nd and 3rd, with both runners making personal records.
In the Men’s 800m, Garfield placed 3rd with Lucas Carroll running a new best time of 2:03.73s. In the Women’s 800m, Linnea Johnson got the top time, for Garfield, placing 6th with 2:59.70s.
In the Men’s 200m, Jacolby Cochran Jr placed 1st with a new personal record of 23.64s followed by William Phillips Nichols in his 200m debut with 24.03s. This was Nichols’ 1st time running a 200m in three years. He ran against his teammates Finn Albright and Elan Gorham-Siegler, who he shouted out for motivating each other throughout the race. Nichols surprised himself with his performance saying, “I got a 24.03, which is crazy because... I thought I was going to be in the 25s.” He said, “the race wasn’t hard, I usually do the 400m, but I was surprised at how fun it was.” He explained that the differences between his 200m and 400m were that, “I had so much more energy and I was just hype! It was fun. The 400m; it’s like a chore. The 800m is also kinda fun, but the 200m is amazing!” Nichols has now decided that the 200m is the best race.
This was followed by the Women’s 200m, where Jayda Lewis also made her 200m debut, placing 2nd with 27.21s. Because she was unseeded, Lewis ran in the last heat. She said this was one of the most challenging parts of her meet because, “Even though there is no competition, I’m still telling myself to never give up and keep pushing myself to the fullest.”
In the 3200m, Colten Ladd ran a new personal record of 10:25.99s, barely facing any competition, with the closest competition over 30s behind. Ladd said the race was, “good. It was exhausting. I mean I went too fast in the first 400 meters but it was good in all and it was just fun.” Ladd ran the first 400 meters in under 70 seconds. They made up for the fast first lap by, “trying to go a little bit slower, but it was really hard because I didn’t know at what pace to go at. I just wish that there was someone ahead of me, but you know, it was fine!” In the Women’s 3200m, Ella Nestingen was the top performance for Garfield, with a personal record of 13:16.18s.
As always, the final event of the day was the 4x400. Although Garfield did not put all their top runners in the Men’s race, the team of Aaron Johnson, Louis Cufley, Lucas Caroll, and Hayden Murphy still got a good time of 3:56.38. The Women’s 4x400 star-studded team of Lucy Richardson, Malia Samuels, Jayda Lewis, and Lucy Richardson absolutely dominated, and crushed Blanchet, placing Garfield as the #1 team in Metros, and 4th at state. This was this specific group’s first time running together. This was Jayda Lewis’s favorite race of the day, as it is to many of the athletes who have tried it.
Unfortunately, Blanchet and Lakeside dominated in both discus and shot-put, but good efforts were still made by Garfield competitors. In the Men’s Pole Vault, Mayhar Mohajeri placed 2nd with a new best height of 10 feet. Wren McIntosh placed 2nd in the Women’s pole vault with 8 and a half feet. Shima True placed 1st in the Women’s triple jump with 35-02.75. Malia Samuels tied for 1st in the Women’s long jump with 15-02.00. Kenny Gilbert placed 2nd in the Men’s long jump with a PR of 19-00.5
With the penultimate league meet under the Bulldog’s belts, Metros, Districts, and State are fast-approaching. The Bulldogs are excited!
As always, the meet began with a roaring start for Garfield in the Women’s 4x200m relay. However, this race was particularly special because the star-studded team of Mylea Lexing, Takiyah Blue, Malia Samuels, and Lucy Richardson got a new personal record. They beat their own previous record, further asserting themselves as the best 4x200m team in the 3A state.
Although none of the top runners were in the Men's 110m hurdles, Zack Bukovec placed 4th with a new personal record of 23.02s. There were no Women’s 100m hurdles due to lack of competitors.
In the Men’s 100m dash, Sehje Jackson finished first in an extremely tight race, with him and a competitor from Lakeside less than 1/100th of a second apart, both at 11.72s. In the Women’s 100m dash, Takiyah Blue got a new personal record of 12.65s, placing her 2nd in the metro league and 7th in state. Lucy Richardson also got a personal record and placed 2nd, with 12.90s, placing her 5th in the Metro league.
The 1600m followed, which was quite nerve racking for many of the competitors. Neko Connor, one of the Bulldogs athletes discussed her feelings before her race and gave valuable insight into the mind of a long-distance runner. She said that before her races she feels, “Super anxious and like I wish I had never done track.” She said this is, “because I put all of my self-worth into my results even though they are never going to be as good as the top 7.” She was praying for a personal best, and when asked about it she said, “I’m really hoping so…” Luckily, Connor got a personal record of 6:41. The top performer in the Women’s 1600m was Ellie Wakefield, who placed 5th at 5:50.89s. The top performance in the Men’s 1600m was Aaron Johnson in 6th with 4:56.83s.
The Men’s 4x100 was an astonishing race, with Garfield leaving all competition in the dust. The team ran it in 44.04s, just 1/100th short of their best time this season. When asked about the race Tawaf Aboudou, the anchor leg, said that “I got the baton at 1st place and I kept 1st place. We all got good handoffs, and it was just a good race overall.” The Women’s 4x100 was also a great race with the Bulldog’s pulling out an easy win with 51.91s, placing them 3rd in the Metro League.
Immediately after, there was an amazing showdown in the Men’s 400m dash between Tawaf Aboudou and William Phillips Nichols. Both had strong feelings about the race and used each other to push themselves to the fullest and secure personal records. Said Nichols of the race giddily, “I PR’d!” However, he explained that “it was a 52.4, but I am not satisfied until I beat William Laird’s time.” William Laird is a runner that Nichols has a history with because Laird was top 10 in all the events, and Nichols reached out to congratulate him, but Laird blocked Nichols on Instagram. Nichols also spoke of a bet he made before the race. A guy that he had raced at a previous meet reportedly came up to him and said, “I’m gonna beat you in this 4. I’m getting revenge for last week’s 800.” And so, Nichols “made sure to make up a stagger for him in the first 100, which I regret, because I had nothing left at the end.” This came back to bite him later when, “Tawaf just swooped at the end which was kinda a little frustrating since he had just run a 4x100.” But Nichols showed nothing but love for Aboudou saying, “Power to him, man, I love to see it.” When discussing the race, Aboudou said of Nichols’ fast start that, “I was trying to pace myself, but I was also trying to get back up to him, but he was not slowing down.” When asked what caused him to outsprint Nichols in the end, Aboudou said that, “I was just pushing myself; I was like, I need it, I need to beat him. After the race, Aboudou explained, “I could not walk. I was trying to relax and it hurt. It was bad. The 400 just killed me. I don’t think I was conditioned for it.” Keep an eye on Aboudou because as he says “a lot is to come.”
In the Women’s 400m dash, freshman Jayda Lewis placed 1st with an astounding time of 1:02.88s. Lewis has recently shifted from mainly long-distance events to focusing on sprinting. She said the transition was “pretty good. It was good competition, just pushing myself a lot.” She said that short distance was “way more better!” and that “short distance has a lot more competition, but long-distance is still my sport too.” Despite this relatively recent change, Lewis ranks 4th in the Metro league for the 400m.
In the Men’s 300m hurdles, Phineas Woodland ran a season record of 43.33s, and was closely followed by Tayden Blue, who ran 43.41s. Both are ranked top 6 in the Metro League. Unfortunately, one Garfield runner was not able to finish the race due to a tumble of one of the hurdles. The anonymous hurdler declined to comment. In the Women’s 300m hurdles, Fiona Real made this year’s debut with an astonishing time of 49.87s, placing her 5th in the Metro league just after her 1st attempt. Garfield also placed 2nd and 3rd, with both runners making personal records.
In the Men’s 800m, Garfield placed 3rd with Lucas Carroll running a new best time of 2:03.73s. In the Women’s 800m, Linnea Johnson got the top time, for Garfield, placing 6th with 2:59.70s.
In the Men’s 200m, Jacolby Cochran Jr placed 1st with a new personal record of 23.64s followed by William Phillips Nichols in his 200m debut with 24.03s. This was Nichols’ 1st time running a 200m in three years. He ran against his teammates Finn Albright and Elan Gorham-Siegler, who he shouted out for motivating each other throughout the race. Nichols surprised himself with his performance saying, “I got a 24.03, which is crazy because... I thought I was going to be in the 25s.” He said, “the race wasn’t hard, I usually do the 400m, but I was surprised at how fun it was.” He explained that the differences between his 200m and 400m were that, “I had so much more energy and I was just hype! It was fun. The 400m; it’s like a chore. The 800m is also kinda fun, but the 200m is amazing!” Nichols has now decided that the 200m is the best race.
This was followed by the Women’s 200m, where Jayda Lewis also made her 200m debut, placing 2nd with 27.21s. Because she was unseeded, Lewis ran in the last heat. She said this was one of the most challenging parts of her meet because, “Even though there is no competition, I’m still telling myself to never give up and keep pushing myself to the fullest.”
In the 3200m, Colten Ladd ran a new personal record of 10:25.99s, barely facing any competition, with the closest competition over 30s behind. Ladd said the race was, “good. It was exhausting. I mean I went too fast in the first 400 meters but it was good in all and it was just fun.” Ladd ran the first 400 meters in under 70 seconds. They made up for the fast first lap by, “trying to go a little bit slower, but it was really hard because I didn’t know at what pace to go at. I just wish that there was someone ahead of me, but you know, it was fine!” In the Women’s 3200m, Ella Nestingen was the top performance for Garfield, with a personal record of 13:16.18s.
As always, the final event of the day was the 4x400. Although Garfield did not put all their top runners in the Men’s race, the team of Aaron Johnson, Louis Cufley, Lucas Caroll, and Hayden Murphy still got a good time of 3:56.38. The Women’s 4x400 star-studded team of Lucy Richardson, Malia Samuels, Jayda Lewis, and Lucy Richardson absolutely dominated, and crushed Blanchet, placing Garfield as the #1 team in Metros, and 4th at state. This was this specific group’s first time running together. This was Jayda Lewis’s favorite race of the day, as it is to many of the athletes who have tried it.
Unfortunately, Blanchet and Lakeside dominated in both discus and shot-put, but good efforts were still made by Garfield competitors. In the Men’s Pole Vault, Mayhar Mohajeri placed 2nd with a new best height of 10 feet. Wren McIntosh placed 2nd in the Women’s pole vault with 8 and a half feet. Shima True placed 1st in the Women’s triple jump with 35-02.75. Malia Samuels tied for 1st in the Women’s long jump with 15-02.00. Kenny Gilbert placed 2nd in the Men’s long jump with a PR of 19-00.5
With the penultimate league meet under the Bulldog’s belts, Metros, Districts, and State are fast-approaching. The Bulldogs are excited!