The Struthers track team competed in a quad meet at South Range on Monday, March 13 and placed third overall for boys and girls.

Everyone worked hard to prepare for this, and their results showed through in their first meet. Many runners ended up placing. JayLynn Sherred earned fifth place in the 100H, in 2nd place was Elena Bullen, Natalie Wolikow, Lorieona Jannone, Natalie Adams for the 4×200 relay, and Addison Cool placed third in the 1600. Elena Bullen, Natalie Wolikow, Lorieona Jannone, Natalie Adams placed first in the 4x1oo relay, in fifth was Brianna Rippe for the 300H, and in fifth place was Tekeria Brown-Holness for the 200.

Brianna Rippe, Emma Morris, Natalie Wolikow, Aleena Wagner placed second in the 4×400 relay, Tyler Sanchez placed first in the 100, in fourth place was Alec Gryzb for the 100, and Christian Pascarella, Najer Howard, Zade Casey, Devin Braham placed first in 4×2 relay. Zade Casey, Alec Gryzb, Devin Braham, Tyler Sanchez placed first in the 4×100 relay, Tiyan Miller placed fourth in the 400, Alec Gryzb won second in the 200, Gino Carcelli placed fourth in the 200, and Riley Painter, Zade Casey, Najer Howard, Tiyan Miller placed in the 4×400 relay.

Wolikow, a freshman runner, is proud of her efforts both individually and as a whole relay team.

“I feel I did really well for it being my first high school track meet. I think I did the best in my 4×4 race. It feels so good to be a freshman on our relay team, especially after coming first,” says Wolikow.

Along with how well the runners competed, the field events also did very well in their first meet. Logan Amil placed second in discus. There was also a fourth place tie between Mario Pecchia and Caleb Sakara in discus, Sakara placed second in shot put, Colin Mateo won fourth in shot put, Pascarella placed second in long jump, Isabella Sahli placed third in discus, Alyssa Emerson won fourth in discus, and in 1st place was Emma Morris for the long jump.

Emerson, a thrower, is happy with her results and appreciates how much it shows her growth.

“It felt very rewarding and helped to show my improvement from my first middle school meet to my first high school one,” says Emerson.

Considering how young the Struthers track team is, they all competed very well and have a bright future ahead of them. Many of the freshmen on the team competed in their first-ever high school competition and performed incredibly well. It was a very special moment for many.

Wolikow reflects on her feelings about the first meet and looks forward to the future.

“I was really scared because it’s a lot of pressure to come in and be on all three relays my first year of high school track, but overall I’m grateful that I got that spot and I can’t wait for upcoming meets,” says Wolikow.