Coaches: Jacob Holloway (head coach), Ashley Bordy (assistant coach), Kyle Calderon (assistant coach), Rick Holloway (assistant coach), Andrew Guevara (assistant coach), Jordan Brinkley (assistant coach), Samantha Mejia (assistant coach), Ryan Canotal (assistant coach)
Top Returning Athletes: Shenell Bible (10), Lily Dalton (10), Rachel Haan (11), Esther Kim (11), Vivian Pop (10), Ava Raddatz (10), Noelia Rojo (11)
Top Newcomers: Rielynn Brimmer (9), Emily Espino (9), Mia Gonzales (9)
Last Season: The girls track and field team finished fourth in the Freeway League. Among the athletes, graduated seniors Abigail Hahm and Jasmin Jones qualified to compete in CIF for the 100 meter hurdles, alongside the 4×100 team that won the league.
Outlook: This season, Holloway aims for the Lady Lancers to place within the top two schools of the league.
“Teamwise, we finished third in girls varsity, which was OK, but we’re looking to do better this year,” Holloway said. “Individually, the players should all have goals they’ve set for themselves and certain events, and I just want to see them progress toward that goal and achieve it.”
With a larger team, Holloway sees limited opportunities for the Lady Lancers to demonstrate their abilities.
“When the time does arise, they need to take advantage of that opportunity,” he said. “There are only three league meets, so there’s a smaller amount of time to impress and to try to make that progress.”
As for preseason workouts, Holloway said he has been focusing on fundamental exercises, including rolling, running, stretching and strengthening.
“Right now, we’re still finishing up the tail end the preseason training, so if they were not in another sport or cross country, a lot of it has been getting them up to a basic fitness level,” the head coach said. “These past two weeks, we’ve moved into jump activities for long and triple jump and hurdles, and the throwers have been throwing for about a month or so, too.”
Kim, who has been the girls varsity track and field and cross country captain since her sophomore year and has consistently ranked within the top of her age division, said she looks forward to setting new records for the school’s team.
“Some of my responsibilities include leading in stretches and drills while also helping my teammates go on the right route when running,” said Kim. “My biggest goal is to set the 400 meter school record, [and] I also want to get first or second in the league as a team for the girls varsity side.”
Holloway sees Troy as the team’s biggest competitor with Fullerton and Sonora following behind.
“We need to start to establish ourselves early in the season, get some good performances in and then throughout the course of the season just do our best in those league meet opportunities so that we have enough people qualify for prelims and finals to actually place high in the league,” Holloway said.
He also plans to utilize the start of the season as an opportunity to improve on event habits and techniques.
“Our first league meet does not count in the standings, so it’s a good time to put down an early season time that can be used for planning and evaluation in the following weeks,” Holloway said. “You aren’t looking to peak right now — that would be at League Finals — so these early meets are a good low-pressure environment to work on and refine the basics.”
The Lady Lancers will compete in their first Freeway League Tri-Meet against Troy and Fullerton tomorrow, March 7, at Buena Park High School stadium.
