Farewell cross country and hello indoor track! The 2022-2023 indoor track season has arrived and the coaches and athletes are beyond excited. This season, they will be competing in Geneva, Ohio at Spire Institute. Spire Institute is about 750,000 square feet and holds a wide variety of sports competitions including volleyball, basketball, soccer, and of course track! Coach Toole and Coach Sparks are the girls sprinting coaches, Coach Swiat is the girls distance coach, and Coach Gerges is the girls throwing coach. The boys coach is Coach Dow. These coaches put a lot of time and effort into this program and they are ecstatic to see the hard work of the athletes pay off.
The Lakewood Times sat down with senior mid-distance runner Mallory Zavatchen and discussed her views on this upcoming season. “I am super excited about this season because it’s our last time running indoors so we have to make the most out of this season.” Mallory is a three season athlete as she competes in soccer, indoor track, and outdoor track. This season, the coaches decided to hold practices only three times a week so athletes don’t get too burnt out. “The coaches announced the three practices a week and I was thrilled. As much as I love playing these sports, I get tired easily. It’s super generous they still give us free time as I feel it is super well deserved,” says Zavatchen. Mallory is extremely excited to spend her last season with her best friend Aniya Symons and the rest of her team.
The Lakewood Times also sat down with senior sprinter Elliott Snyder about her school record and the upcoming season. Elliott Snyder wanted to try something new this year and test out the waters on the swimming and diving team. She then decided that track fit her best so she could potentially break another record. On February 26, Elliott Snyder, McKenna Hunt, Teeghan McGann, and Kaydence Doxley broke the 4×2 school record with an astonishing 1:48:81 at Spire Institute. That same group of girls on May 15 broke the 4×2 record with 1:45.66 at Rocky River High School. “We are missing Teeghan this year since she graduated but we have so many talented underclassmen and upperclassmen to fill her spot and hopefully break the record once again.” stated Snyder.
The Lakewood Rangers Girls and Boys Track Team have a Spire Classic preseason meet, three regular season meets, a spire championship meet, and the state indoor meet which they have to qualify for. Track is a great sport to get into shape and meet many great people. The coaching community is friendly and they truly want the best for you. If you are interested in spring track, Coach Toole and Coach Dow will have an informational meeting sometime in March so you can hear all about it. Go Rangers!
