Track team on a roll heading toward the end of the season
St. John’s outdoor track team traveled to Bear, DE, on April 20 to compete in the Art Madric Classic. The team was well represented, with the girls taking home a team title. The boys did well also, coming in third overall.
The girls’ 4x200m relay placed first in their heat. Aronke Fashina ’21 qualified for the finals in the 100m and 200m. The boys’ 4x800m relay placed second. The relay was comprised of Matias Facchinato-Sitja ’22, Liam de Beaufort ’19, Pandelis Margaronis ’21, and Chris Teter ’20.
On April 25, the team competed in the prestigious Penn Relays. It is the oldest relay track meet, beginning in 1895, and draws athletes from around the world. It includes Olympic qualifying events, as well as high school and college events. The relays take place on Franklin Field at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia each year.
St. John’s girls won their heat for the 4x400m. The team was comprised of Zenobia Johnson ’21, Tara Anders ’21, Alahna Sabbakhan ’19, and Anna Cestari ’19. Alicia Dawson ’19 also took fourth place in long jump.
Anders said, “I feel very happy, because our team has worked really hard and it’s nice to have our hard work pay off.” She said that it was a tight race, but SJC was able to take the win when one of the runners from a Jamaican team fell during the relay. Johnson said that most of the relay members usually run longer races than the 400m, but Coach Dunham chose them because he felt they deserved to go.
The team has had a successful season so far and hopes to keep it that way. The WCAC championships take place May 17-18 and DC states are May 22-23. The girls’ team won WCACs last year and are hoping to repeat. Johnson said, “I think that the girls have a really good chance at winning both WCACs and DCSAAs. We have a lot of good talent on the girls’ side this year that we did not have last year. Even though we did lose a lot of good people who graduated last year, I think that new and returning people will be able to effectively get the job done.”
Video by Anna Cestari ’19
