Track & Field (Boys/Girls) | 5/18/2024 1:31:00 PM

The follow is from an article from Dons Press by El Cid, "Setting the Pace."

The Track Team's Record Breaking Journey to Gold

With the finish line coming into view for the Class of 2024, the seniors of the Cathedral Catholic Track Team recall their most victorious season in history, with records being shattered across individual, boys, and girls events.

At the Mount Carmel Sundevil Invitational, the 4x800 meter racers sat in the second seed position. Captain Scarlett Martin '24 was the first leg and headed off the race with an impressive lap, clocked at 1:05. She recalls handing off to Lindsey Zimmer '26 in second place, where she kicked ahead to the first place position- matching Martin's time of 1:05.

Zimmer recounts her 200 meter contribution, "I trailed the first place girl for a lap then decided to start kicking on the second lap. With 200 to go, I wanted to create a gap and handed it off to Christine Bickler. She kept our lead and handed it off to Patsy."

Patsy Hellman '26 follows up. "I got the baton from Christine... it was a close handoff. Going into the first lap, I tried to keep with the girl in front of me and kick as hard as I could in the last 200," she continues, "I was doing it for my team, I needed to pull through and carry out so we could finish ahead. I kicked as hard as I could and we ended up breaking the record."

Not only did they crush their personal record by twenty seconds, but also came in five seconds ahead of the Cathedral Catholic school-wide record, which stood for ten years. This meet set a precedent for their victories to come.

At the Arcadia Invitational, the largest national high school track meet, Zimmer, Martin, and Hellman came ahead once again, this time with Captain Xani Pena '24 anchoring them in the Distance Medley Relay. The first leg of this event is 1200 meters. Martin succeeded in her objective to get ahead quickly to secure a favorable position in her handoff to Zimmer. With 30 girls stampeding the track, Zimmer "got the baton and passed a couple people." She reflects on her 400 meter leg before her handoff to Hellman, "For the 400, you just have to sprint your life out." And she did just that.

Hellman preserved their success for the 800 meters following Zimmer.Then the baton met the determined grip of Pena, who pushed through 1600 meters in only 5:09. With their cumulative time of 12:07, these girls placed fourth at the national competition and beat another Cathedral record, which stood since 1998.

Even draped in medallions with their names etched into record books, these girls adamantly offer their successes to each other. Their team culture was their most effective tool in their success, Zimmer admits, "We run for each other. If we are struggling, we think about our team to find that second gear inside of us... You have the power of the three other girls inside you while you're running." Hellman responds, "It helps knowing that we have each other to push each other.

The underclassmen especially offer their gratitude to the Captains, Hellman reminisces, "Xani and Scarlett to lead us through drills and get prayer going before every race, showing up to practice with a positive attitude," and Zimmer follows, "I definitely learned how to be a leader from my captains Scarlett Martin and Xani Peña, and how to help out the underclassmen and create a positive environment on the team by being uplifting and supportive of everyone."

Likewise, the captains offer their success to their motivators, "My coaches - Coach Geiger, Coach Itchon, and Coach Amina- have given me a sense of purpose while they guide me through every practice and race. They made me want to pursue it in college," mentions Martin, who is committed to Columbia University to run in the fall.

She appreciates this team for fueling and preserving her passion for the sport; "Running at Cathedral definitely propelled me forward to my future at Columbia because running with them enforced my sense of community... When you're running in a race, you get a sense of togetherness. They showed me that I wanted that in college, too."

On the other side of the track, four equally determined athletes stretch their legs as they prepare to set off on the painted path. Seniors Vincent Atilano, Nathan Bruhn, Riley Leyva, and Gavin Holt have also won their fair share of gold medals, breaking apart records as they cross the finish lines, victorious.

The squad has broken both the 4x100 and 4x400 records outside of their individual records. With three of the four teammates running for universities in the fall, there is no doubting the skill and talent that awarded the team their medals: Riley Leyva is committed to UC Davis, Nathan Bruhn to UC Santa Cruz, Vincent Atilano to Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, and Gavin Holt will be furthering his academic career at UC Santa Barbara.

With the four boys running side by side since their sophomore year, the squad has elevated symmetry and teamwork. The race starts with Holt, who sets the pace for his fellow teammates to follow. Holt passes the baton to Bruhn, whose endurance keeps up the momentum of their speed. Leyva takes the baton next, his sprinting ability pushes the team forward for their final stretch. The baton is then passed to Atilano, who acts as the anchor and finishes the race as he crosses the finish line.

Atilano recalls, "I was coming down the last hundred and I noticed the clock- it was lower than usual. I saw my guys- they were getting hyped-and I crossed that finish line, we saw the time, and we were super excited. We knew that we made history setting the school record, and it was a goal of ours to do something like that as a group- especially with all of us being seniors, having our names in the record book."

The boys cleared the decade old record of 3 minutes and 22 seconds by an exhilarating two seconds, setting the current record at 3 minutes and 20 seconds. When they crossed the finish line, the squad celebrated the effort that they put into reaching their goals, and the people who supported their journey there. Atilano explains, "If it wasn't for Cathedral, I wouldn't have done track in the first place. I started track in high school and the coaches believed in me. They believed in us as a squad. They set out goals for us and we hit those goals. Those goals certainly helped us get to where we are today when it comes to getting recruited for college."

Bruhn expresses his gratitude for the sport, and the connections he made during his track journey. "I never would have met them if it weren't for track. In track you meet a lot of people- you meet everybody whereas in other sports, you're just with your team. [I appreciate] the bond of it and how many friendships you'll make along the way."

But these connections go deeper than those made within the school. As underclassmen, Atilano reflects on the inspiration that graduated Dons instilled upon him during his career as a student athlete. His fellow captains echo a shared goal in becoming role models for upcoming Dons who will rise to take the places of the seniors on the team.

"We want our names to be remembered. I want these underclassmen to remember our class and remember how good we were so they Ove an example of what it takes to get to where they want to be," Vincent says.

Bruhn adds, They've seen how hard we work, so they know what it takes. We had Bryce Brock '22 and Lucky Sutton '22 and Donovan Saunders '22 to look up to and see how fast they were running and see how hard they were training. They really set that as a bar and that's why we became so good and broke so many records. Most of it was because we set the bar so high because of those guys and we want to do the same thing for these new guys as well."

The boys explain that the most rewarding part of their athletic careers has been the recognition that they received rather than the gold medals they wear. Having their hard work and effort recognized creates a more victorious feeling than crossing the line, "Records come and go but that feeling of being recognized for your hard work- there's no other feeling. Money can't buy that feeling." Atilano reminds the incoming upperclassmen that discipline and determination are key in success, and victory is to be remembered rather than receiving a material award.

Winning is hard earned, but Bruhn adds shared wisdom from his coach, "Control the controllables and that's all you can do." Indeed, the only controllables are one's dedication and determination to shatter the record times in hopes of being remembered in the record book. Yet it is worth remembering those who set the path beforehand, the teammates that race alongside each other, and the coaches who created the track for students to run.

As the class of 2024 prepares to cross their last finish line, they will find that their names are written in record books, engraved on gold medals, and spoken from the mouths of teammates who will come after them. It is now that they will pass on the baton for the last time as they prepare to take on their paths in college.