By Isabelle Ortiz | Staff Writer

    On March 31, Gabrielino will be going up against South El Monte High School. The track meet will be happening at home on our track after school.

    Gabrielino High School lost against Rosemead High School in a meet on March 17, despite being tied in most matches. The previous track meet was on Mar. 10 against Marshall High School.

   At the match with Rosemead High School, senior Bryan Chow took first place in boys varsity. Chow was also placed in the number one spot for the 800 meters, 1600 meters, and 3200-meter run. “It is a huge feat to triple in the three distance races and even more impressive to win all three.” said head track coach Ryan Kammerman.  

   In second place came freshman Lauren Lam in girls varsity.

   Lam was tied for the number one spot, but ended up taking second place. She is placed in the league for the fastest time for the 400-meter run.

   “She has a very impressive season so far for a freshman,” said Kammerman.

   In third place was sophomore Emma Kurniawan in girls varsity. Kurniawan won the 100-mile hurdles and the 300-mile hurdles. Currently, she is placed in the league for both 100 and 300 hurdles.

   For the first 15-20 minutes of the track meet against Rosemead, both sides were warming up as they were scattered across the field. Some students were running around the track and others were tossing the batons to each other in mini races across the field.

   Students used this time to stretch their legs with high knees and butterfly stretches to prepare for their competitions. Some students were jumping over the hurdles before their turn arrived.  

   According to Chow, junior Isela Aparicio, and freshman Steve Tao, the track team resembles a family. They are a tight-knit group of supportive and encouraging coaches and students.

     The coach staff of the Gabrielino track team includes coach Elijah Peters, coach Lorenzo Mena, and coach Edith Gonzales, along with Kammerman, who work with students to lead the team to success.

   Track was a way for many students like Tao to be active again after being in lockdown for almost two years. 

   “[Track members] should expect that to get better then you should have a personal motivation, that you want to get better,” stated Chow. “You shouldn’t feel like you’re forced to do these things, but because you want to.”

   Chow continued, “It’s kind of a time commitment but not too much. I know for some events training starts at like six, so depending on your event it could be a pretty big time commitment.”