The girls’ track team at STCE has already had an amazing start to their indoor season, breaking eight records in just three meets. The team has worked hard all season, and it shows in their incredible performances these past two weeks.
So far this season, records have been broken by athletes senior Mady Piekarz in the 200m and 60m dash, sophomore Siri Forsell in the 200m and 60m for the freshman/sophomore division and junior Nicole Mayer in the 800m run. If that wasn’t impressive enough, Piekarz, junior Luca Ketter, Forsell and sophomore Fiona Post shattered the school record in the 4x200m indoor relay, earning a total time of 1 minute and 44.7 seconds in contrast to their previous record a week earlier of 1 minute and 45.5 seconds.
Piekarz is one of the team captains of the track team at East and is an extremely dedicated runner. So far this year, she has broken records in the 60m and 200m, with a time of 7.88 seconds in the 60m dash and a time of 25.67 seconds in the 200m dash. Coming into each race, she focuses on enjoying the race and having fun, allowing her to appreciate the position she is in and the running itself. “Before my races, people usually assume I’m serious or feel a lot of pressure, but honestly, I go into every race with the mindset of having fun. I remind myself how lucky I am to even be in the position I’m in. I love running, so before every race I just feel free and excited,” Piekarz said.
Mayer is another captain on the team. This past Valentine’s Day, she broke a fieldhouse record at Huntley High School in the 800m run, with a time of 2 minutes and 18.63 seconds. She also gives insight into her inner dialogue before competing. “It took me a long time to find the right race day mentality, but the key is to have fun,” she explains. “I had to stop focusing on the results and the pain and start running races purely because I wanted to run.”
These girls have a passion for running, and that passion is the key to getting the results they want. From what was shared, these two record-breakers prioritize having fun and competing because they love it over anything else.
Training is also a crucial aspect in any sport, especially track. Both Mayer and Piekarz share insights into their practices and how they push themselves in both hard workouts and races. “During hard races and workouts, I push myself by reminding myself of all my goals,” says Mayer. “When I remember what I am working towards, it makes the pain a little more bearable.”
Piekarz has a similar mentality when it comes to pushing through the pain. “When a workout or race gets hard, I always remember that there’s an end goal in sight. Every tough day is pushing me to become better. I never want to look back and regret not giving my full effort, so I choose to push myself. Pain is temporary, success outweighs every hard moment.”
The dedication these athletes show to training is truly inspiring. They both have great mentalities, which is a crucial part of success. We can all learn something from these runners.
Motivation is another crucial aspect of a sport, especially for these two runners. Both girls emphasized wanting to improve and become the best they can be. Seeing the progress they have made has also been a huge motivating factor. “What motivates me in training is knowing that the work I’m putting in is making me faster. Seeing the progress and knowing it’s paying off keeps me driven,” says Piekarz. She also touches on the team aspect of the sport. “I’m also lucky enough to train with my favorite people. Getting to run with the best girls every day is motivation all on its own.”
Mayer touches on something similar. “The main thing that motivates me when it comes to training is that I always want to be the best version of myself that I can be. I want to work my hardest to be the strongest, fastest and best I can be, and seeing the results of my hard work on and off the track is incredibly motivating.”
Track is only a couple of weeks into racing, and there have already been incredible results from athletes all across the board. From what Piekarz and Mayer have provided, it’s all about good mentality and focusing on the end result, more than the pain of the moment. East definitely is headed for success in the rest of the season to come.
