Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, school life at Coral Gables Senior High has not had a semblance of normalcy. School activities that involve clubs and sports have changed drasticially to accommodate COVID-19 procedures. One of the Cavalier sports teams that was affected by said changes is the Girls Track and Field team.

Last year, the track and field season had to be cut short. Before practices were canceled, the team prepared for their meets by practicing daily after school. Usually, they would perform their warm ups as a team and then branch off depending on their particular event. This year they follow more or less the same curriculum, however, they have to keep their masks on when they are around each other. If they are going to take their mask off and go for a run then they must keep their distance.

Due to COVID-19, most of the track and field meets have been canceled. Originally, they had a meet on Feb. 24, but it was canceled due to an outbreak at Ransom Everglades School and Westminster Christian School. Their first track meet of the season will begin on March 10 and end on March 12. This meet is hosted by the Greater Miami Athletic Conference and includes girls and boys high jump, pole vault, a 1600m run and a 3200m run. Although the conditions for this meet are unknown, there is a high probability that there will be less people and not as many schools.

“At first there were not a lot of people in track and field and I trained alone for a while but now more girls have joined so we have a bigger team,” sophomore Ariadna Torras said.

This year, the sports team started off small with around 12 girls and slowly expanded to include even more. This did pose some issues, because the team had a lack of uniforms for all of the girls. At previous meets, they have had to share the shorts in the middle of competitions. Luckily, this did not phase the team. In fact, it encouraged them to create a fundraiser on GoFundMe.com to raise money for new shorts that will fit comfortably and supply enough for everyone in the team.

“My experience in track for now is amazing, at first I did not know many people, but once I went to practice, I felt very comfortable around the people that I had around. The same group of people will cheer for you and push you to your limit. Even though the season just started I already know that joining track was a great decision,” freshman Catalina Quinteros said.

As of March 5, the girls track and field team has managed to raise $406 out of their $330 goal in a span of 6 days. Fortunately for them, they have the GMAC competition right around the corner and can hopefully show off their new shorts.