The Sunny Hills (1-2) girls track and field team secured a win against Troy High School (0-4) with a final score of 60-54, while the boys team came up short during the third league meet with a final score of 49-77, on Wednesday, April 1. 

“All levels fought really well, [and] this might be the first time we’ve beaten Troy since I’ve been here,” head coach Jake Holloway said. “Team camaraderie was the best it’s been all year; everybody was pulling for each other, they were in a great mood and the weather was great.” 

The Lady Lancers kept up a strong gap in points throughout most of the meet before it got close toward the end.

Not only did junior Kaila Ego place first in her 100-meter and 300-meter hurdle events, but she also set a new school record in the 4-by-100-meter relay. 

“It feels really great to achieve a new school record, [and] a reason why I am so proud of it is because I was also a part of last year’s school record, so we beat our own record, meaning we improved as a team,” Ego said.

She said that since the meet took place one day earlier than usual, it led to less preparation, but said she feels like she adapted accordingly.

“I made sure my mental health was good since track is a very mental sport; I made sure to not get so in my head and think positive thoughts,” the junior said. 

For her field events, such as shot put and discus, junior Ava Brown said she is motivated to continue improving this season.

“I hit a personal record [PR] by 15 feet in discus [this meet], so that was pretty awesome,” said Brown, who placed second in the throw event. “I think we have a really great group this year, [and] everyone is very driven and supportive.”

Despite the boys’ loss, the team performed well with multiple players getting PRs in throws and jumps, Holloway said. 

“We had some people bring it all together today; it clicked for them today, whereas there has been a little bit of struggle this far this year,” the head coach said. “Troy is always tough with a lot of good athletes, so it’s always competitive whenever we face off against them.”

Senior Ronin Nguyen, who placed third in the 1,600-meter run, said he hopes to focus on staying motivated and representing Sunny Hills well.

“I want to keep the same mentality that I had during that race: staying focused and executing,” Nguyen said. 

Instead of distance events, sophomore Devan Rosete focuses on competing in field events such as long jump, triple jump and high jump, in which he placed first at 5 feet, 10 inches.

“My goal is to qualify for CIF in high jump,” said Rosete, who described his performance as the best so far. “I also want to work on my triple jump because I just started doing it, and I want to get better.”

Junior Travis McCovery ended the meet with a win as the anchor in the 4-by-400-meter relay and said he hopes to continue doing well after placing first in two out of three of his races. 

“I’m hoping I can be very consistent and be a top scorer for my team this season,” McCovery said. “My goals are to break the 400-meter junior record and be the fastest 400-meter runner in our league.”

Holloway said the meet was a good litmus test to see what to prepare for regarding league preliminaries and finals, and he said he hopes to get a group of athletes into Orange County Champs and achieve strong placements.

“There are always things that can be improved upon, so we will continue working hard, but I feel like we’re adequately prepared for a competitive league season,” he said. “Our training is geared towards doing our best in league prelims and finals, so we will continue with the plan that worked last season by managing workload and intensity.”

The next league meet is against the Wildcats at Brea Olinda High School on Thursday, April 16, at 3:00 p.m..=