This past Thursday, Feb. 12, the Cavalier Track and Field team held its first meet of the season on Gables’s very own new track. The team competed against Ransom Everglades, Ferguson and Pine Crest High School. It was a great way for the team to start the season and prepare for meets getting tougher and for more schools being involved in competitions.

“It was a good meet, but I know I am going to run better. We had a good time overall and it was a great start to our season. The relay team I am on is trying to get everyone to drop some time and I think that if we really push ourselves, we have a good chance at making it past regionals” sophomore Andy Rodriguez said.

The Gables Track and Field team has been working extremely hard to prepare themselves for the rest of the coming season; they started practicing even before Winter Break to get ready. They practice every day from 2:45 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. every day to make sure they are at the top of their game for the meets. They are also in the weight room every Tuesday and Thursday to improve their strength. As the meet came closer, they started practicing for their events specifically and recorded performances to set a bar for themselves. Many broke the performances they had in practice and even beat the goals they had for the meet. The team feels very good about their performance and think this is a very strong start to their season.

The meet was also a historic event at our school because it was the first scheduled home meet in Gables history. Before the meet began, there was a baton relay consisting of Hanna Schiefer, Alexander Elortegui and two members of the Ransom Everglades team, due to their help in making the Gables track possible. This relay commemorated the first meet at Coral Gables High School. The team was very happy about being able to compete on their home turf and had a lot of support from many fans at the school.

There were also many great performances for Gables in many areas at the meet. Destyni Govan finished

third in the girls 400-meter dash and third in the girls triple jump. Hannah Schiefer finished second in the girls pole vault. Johnesha Ford finished third in the girls long jump. Alyssa Lamadriz finished third in the girls shot put. Dre’quan Johnson finished first in the boys 100-meter dash and third in the boys

200-meter dash. Antwan Walker finished first in the boys 200-meter dash and third in the boys high jump. Dae’muhn Fuller finished second in the boys 400-meter dash. Jaylin Clark-McNatte finished first in the boys high jump. The boys team also won 4×100-meter relay and finished second in the boys 4×800-meter relay. They also ended the meet the perfect way with Antwan Walker making an incredible comeback from about 40 meters behind to secure the victory for Gables in the 4×400-meter relay, which was the last event of the meet.

“We performed very well for the first meet and now we know what we need to strive for and improve on. Everyone on the team is really motivating each other to do as well as possible. I think we are going to have a really good season and I hope to end my senior year well,” senior Hanna Schiefer said.

The Cavaliers had a great meet and they all hope to improve and do even better at the next meets. Makes sure to cheer them on as they take on the Louie Bing Invitational at Traz Powell Track.