The Westside Warriors recently had their first track meet and showed they will be a top team this season. The girls team ended with an exciting third place finish at the College of Saint Mary indoor meet on March 20.
The team had strong performances from events all around and proved that they will not stop until they make it to the state meet this year. Nearly every competitor for the Warriors ended in the top 10 for their event and the Warriors saw improvement from many of their athletes. Head coach Andante Lloyd expressed his feelings towards the meet performance.
“The girls team performance at CSM was a great opener for our Girls team. We generated quality points from just about every event group,” coach Lloyd said. “Overall the girls earned three personal best performances and four Meet records at CSM.”
This season, the Warriors are returning a lot of influential athletes. Some of the top competitors the coaches have recognized for this season are: seniors Auzlyn Anderson and Evloyn Jasa, juniors Mya Archie, Jaydyn Macklin, and Caitlin Steliga, sophomore Annika Jasinski, and freshman Amira Johnson. Anderson has been a top athlete for the Warriors for her entire track career and will remain a top athlete the whole year. She is currently committed to North Dakota State University for track and field and will use this season to prepare for her collegiate career. Anderson discussed her goal for her last season as a Warrior.
“This season for me is all about growth, both mentally and physically. I am currently an inch or two away from the triple jump school record, so I am looking to break that this season,” Anderson said. “I want to PR in both triple and long jump and put myself in a good position to be competitive at the state meet.”
Along with the upperclassmen, the Warriors have also brought in some influential lowerclassmen that are suggested to be top competitors for this season. Isabelle Dominguez, Taija Haley, Maliya Taylor, and Louise Deitrich are all freshmen and sophomores that the coaches have very high hopes for this season. Coach Lloyd talked about what he is looking forward to for the athletes this year.
“I feel like I can go on and list several other names here but I am really excited about the amount of energy and potential in our girls team overall,” coach Lloyd said. “Coaches are excited to see what this group will do this year.”
The team is also introducing new coaches this year. Coach Herbeck and coach Ward have both been introduced this year to fill in the places of coach Blair and coach Preister. Last year, the team did well at the state tournament but they did not do as well as they were hoping. Anderson explained what goals the girls team has set for this year.
“This season we are focusing on being better everyday. Track is all about patience, effort, and trusting the process. Results take time, and as a team we want to be dialed to keep improving week after week so we are at our best by the time metros, districts, and states roll around,” Anderson said. “Our goal is to take as many athletes as possible to the state meet to set us up to be as competitive as possible.”
Be sure to get on track and watch the Warriors compete at the Warrior Invite on Saturday April 4 starting at 10:00 am.
