The Jefferson indoor girl’s track team had a wonderful performance at their meet on Dec. 19 at Jefferson Middle School, even with many of the varsity athletes competing at the VA Showcase in Virginia Beach.
“I felt really good after I [hit a personal record],” sophomore long distance runner Sana Agarwal said. “After each race, the coaches and my teammates are super supportive of everyone.”
Assistant coach Matt Jenkins, who works with the middle distance and distance groups, emphasized the importance of consistency and daily effort.
“We have prepared by, you know, showing up to practice every day,” Jenkins said. “We’re focused on running every day. We’re running four to five days a week, at least some are up in the six and seven range.”
Moreover, the winter training has shaped a team that’s learned to handle tough workouts and pushed athletes to face the tougher parts of distance training.
“And so we have certain days that are difficult days and specifically, there are athletes on the girls’ side that know how to push themselves very much so in the middle distance group,” Jenkins said. “ And they’ve gone through workouts where they finish and they’re on the ground for a while.”
Freshman mid-distance runner Madeleine Wong joined indoor girls track as conditioning for spring lacrosse, but discovered she enjoyed indoor track more than she expected.
“I wasn’t really expecting much out of it, but I’m actually really enjoying it,” Wong said. “So I think I’m glad I made my choice to do an indoor track.”
Despite missing several top runners, Jefferson earned good results throughout the evening. The results showed strong effort, growing confidence and a supportive team that carried across the events.
“So far, we’re feeling great,” Jenkins said. “And expecting things to continue to go that way.”