Last Friday, 24 teams were in attendance for track and field’s annual Friday Night Lights events. Starr’s Mill took first place in five events and placed within the top 10 in 12 total events.
“The kids have been training every day and improving on what we have built so far,” head coach Brandon Frey said. “Every meet, we see new PRs and better results.”
Starting with the girls, senior Kali McQuade placed first in the 800 meter run with a time of 2 minutes and 16.58 seconds. The other girls first place winner was senior Emma Arnold for the 300 meter hurdles event with a time of 44:56.
Other notable performances from the girls were senior Mia Brown coming in 2nd and 3rd for the 200 and 400 meter dash, respectively, with times 25.31 seconds and 58.61 seconds. Junior Kendra Ivaska finished 2nd in the 800 meter run with a time of 2 minutes, 17.58 seconds, and sophomore Chloe Tucker finished 3rd in the 100 meter dash with a time of 12.47 seconds.
“It feels good to compete and race against girls who are fast,” Tucker said.
As for the boys, the front-runner for track events was senior Bankson Roach with a time of 9 minutes and 20.44 seconds for the 3200 meter run. Going to the field side, the winner for both shotput and discus was senior Jared Moore with a distance of 63.8 feet for shotput and 176.6 feet for discus.
Other notable performances were seniors Nick Ercole and Christopher Clarke for the 400 meter dash, placing 6th and 8th with times of 50.31 seconds and 50.82 seconds, respectively. Junior Nate Pacetti finished 3rd in the 3200 meter with a time of 9 minutes, 23.72 seconds.
“It’s all about consistency,” Moore said. “If you keep at it, you’re gonna succeed.”
The track team will compete again on April 5 at the 8th Annual Georgia Spring Break Showdown in Marietta.