Bone chilly wind temperatures caused a majority of the track & field athletes to wear layers but it didn’t stop a few of them from achieving personal records Tuesday evening during the Greater South Shore Athletic Conference title meet.
Seven area high school teams—Bishop Noll Institute, Calumet, Griffith Senior, Hanover Central Jr.-Sr., Lake Station Edison Jr./Sr., River Forest Sr. and Wheeler—gathered at Hanover Central Jr.-Sr. High School for the conference. With so many schools competing, a handful of heats were held before the final races, giving a good indication of which team would lead the pack.
The ladies of Hanover Central took advantage of home field as they won numerous events including the 4x100, the high jump, and the pole vault. Mia Forbes earned first place in both the high jump with a 4’8” jump and the pole vault with a 7’ vault.
“I was hoping to do my best and whatever it came out to be to be proud of what I did,” said Forbes, a senior at Hanover Central.
Forbes said she was hoping to beat her personal record of 4’10” in the high jump but the wind was a little brutal.
The Hanover Central men also took advantage of being home and won the 4x800, the 110 meter hurdles, the 1600 meters, and the boys pole vault. Hanover Central junior Charles Watson said he had a solid strategy of coming into the race but he wasn’t too worried.
“The race strategy was to go in and make sure that I three-stepped every hurdle, stay smooth and stay low,” Watson said. “I wasn’t worried about anything other than first.”
Watson said he’s going to be focusing on the other events such as the 300 meter hurdles, which he took first place with a finish of 47.32, and not worrying too much about 100 meter hurdles come sectionals.
London Holm from Wheeler was one of the few who used the bitter wind to her advantage. Holm, a sophomore, won the girls 100 meters but earned a personal record during the heats before the final race.
“I came to the prelims and I didn’t want to go too, but I ended up with a PR,” Holm said.
Her PR was a 12.73 in the prelim but she slowed a little for the final race that she ran in 13.05.
“So far this season, I have not run my best but reaching my PR today I didn’t expect because it is cold and windy,” Holm said. “This is all surprising.”
Holm also earned a PR in the prelim 200-meter heat with a finish of 26.75 compared to a 26.8.
Another team to make a statement with speed was Calumet. Justin Marshall, a sophmore, won the 100 meter race with a finish of 11.29.
“I could have done better but it felt good,” Marshall said. “If it wasn’t cold outside I could have been faster.”
Marshall said this is his first year of track as he wasn’t able to compete his freshman year, due to COVID-19.