Last week, qualifying members of North Creek’s track and field team got an opportunity to showcase their hard work and talent at the district and state championships. The district meet, held at Renton Memorial Stadium, had top runners from over 30 different schools competing. Qualifying for districts and state takes a lot of dedication, and making it to this level meant the athletes were among the best in their events. Even with high stakes and expectations, the North Creek team did not disappoint and several of them advanced to the state championship meet, which took place at the Mount Tahoma High School.
One of these students representing North Creek included sophomore Amelia Wray, who placed 5th and set a new personal record in the 800 meter race at districts, and went on to place 13th in the state championship. “It was super fun, it was a great experience just being around that kind of atmosphere where everyone’s super competitive,” she said. “[The season] definitely wasn’t the way I imagined it originally, but I learned a lot from it as a person.”
Another teammate who went to state, junior Molly Spiker, competed in four events at districts and competed in the state championship for the 200 meter race. Spiker has the fastest 100 and 200 meter time out of the varsity girls, and, like many of the runners, has been doing track since middle school.
“I feel good about [the season], we’re definitely a strong team this year, which is good to see,” she said. “[Qualifying for state] was pretty exciting. The reward you see from the amount of work you put in, the payoff, is very fun.”
The team’s success this season didn’t just come from individual performances though, but also from the support they showed for each other. When things got tough, senior Myrte Hofman admitted it was her teammates that encouraged her and kept her going, and she enjoyed doing the same. “My favorite place to cheer is on the backstretch, because that’s usually where there’s less people, so I like standing by the track and screaming as loud as I can,” she said, smiling. Hofman was on the cross country team as well as track, and races long distance events. Although she didn’t qualify for state, Hofman finished her season out strong and placed in the top ten of the 3200 meter race.
“The hardest thing [about track] is probably staying motivated when you don’t perform how you want to perform. It can be really hard when you have big goals and you’re not reaching them,” Hofman explained. “Especially when you run distance, it’s pretty much a mental game. Your teammates help you drag you out of that and put it into perspective.”
One new teammate, junior Daniel Ojeda, went to districts his first year of track. Ojeda had an impressive season, and has the fastest times in the North Creek team for the 400, 800, and 1600 meter. “[Districts] was lots of fun, it was exciting and there was lots of energy,” he said. “It was my first season and I was excited to make it that far. Hopefully [next season] I’ll make it farther to state.”
Next season, there will be big shoes to fill. For the graduating seniors, the end of the track and field season also concludes their high school athletic career as they look further into the future. “I’m so sad to leave my teammates, they carry me through everything, so it’s definitely very bittersweet,” said Hofman.
For the returning athletes, next season brings new opportunities to improve as they take on bigger roles in the team.“[Next season], I think being a senior is gonna be fun,” Spiker said, “as well as continuing to develop the program.”
The track and field team proved at both district and state championships that hard work really does pay off, from PRs and state qualifications, to cheering on teammates and placing among the top athletes in the district. With the season wrapping up now, the team is looking forward to next year and another great season, where they’ll get another chance at districts and state.
