As the spring season and school year comes to an end, many look back upon their accomplishments. For the Mills track and field team, this year has been especially successful for its athletes, as they all learned and grew throughout the season.
For the frosh-soph team, this season has driven incredible success, as they held onto an undefeated record in all the dual meets. Freshman Olivia Cruz explained how her season was enjoyable, as she experienced things in a new light. “I was originally not going to do track, but I’m really glad I did. I was able to meet a lot of new people, and I ended up trying a lot of new things that I didn’t realize I would enjoy doing,” Cruz said. She further emphasized how she improved a lot throughout the season, both physically and mentally. Cruz believes that track is a mental sport, and learned to work mentally with herself, especially when participating in jumping events.
The team also found recent success in the PAL Championships, as they accumulated more than 100 points in both the boys and girls divisions, beating all other schools by more than 40 points. Regarding PALs, Joel Cabrera (10) says, “It was fun competing with the top athletes in PALs. And to be at the top of the top is an accomplishment in itself for everybody, and I’m proud of [the team].” However, this achievement didn’t come easily, as Cabrera explained how they put in a lot of effort to reach this goal.
“Everybody works hard and shows up through the practices. And the practices are not easy, they’re really hard. We were able to improve throughout the season and execute at the frosh-soph meet because of our training,” he states.
Kaylee Wong (11) reflects on her personal achievements by saying, “Throughout the season, I didn’t improve as much as I hoped to improve, but I’m proud of my progress so far.” This season, she felt more connected to the team, and believed that going to practice helped her grow closer to her teammates.
Furthermore, many highlighted the importance of community in track and field. Cruz described the community as welcoming and supportive, as everyone wants to see each other succeed. Nicolas Carrozzi (10) adds, “Track is for the people who make the experience better. I would not be showing up to every single practice if my friends weren’t there to be with me,” emphasizing the bond between him and his teammates.
For senior and team captain Kevin Ren, friendships have been solidified throughout his four years on the track team. As one of this season’s captains, he aimed to make sure everyone looked forward to practices, as well as felt included as part of the team. “This year’s track season was my most memorable and most fun [season], because I’m not only a senior, but I got to improve in my times, and I got to lead all the underclassmen in practices while mentoring them,” Ren exclaimed. Alongside his fellow teammates, Ren made it to the Stanford Invitational, a feat that had not been achieved yet. He explained that what truly made it exceptional was participating as a team, instead of individually.
As a last remark, Ren mentions, “It’s really special, because I can actually appreciate every day and the time remaining that I have left [with this team], but I know my teammates are going to continue to grow and lead the younger freshmen.”
With the track and field season winding down and coming to a stop, athletes are already looking forward to the coming season and finding new areas to improve in. To end, Cruz expresses, “I definitely think I’m going to return. We had a really good team this season, and I think it’s definitely worth it to come back.”
