| Track trains for top meet (2/08) | | Print | |
| Written by Sandra Chen | |
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“The race is for elite athletes,” sophomore distance runner Reilly Clewes said. No, Clewes is not talking about the Summer Olympics, but about the upcoming Stanford Invitational from March 27 to 28, a prestigious event that includes high schools like James Logan High School in Union City, whose women’s track team ranked second in the nation last year.
The last time Lowell participated in the Stanford Invitational was in 1997. That year, the girls’ 4-by-400 took fourth in their race and ranked in the top five nationally, head coach Andy Leong said. “It’s a unique meet,” Leong said. “There are college athletes and coaches there. It’s beneficial — the top athletes are viewed by college coaches.” Leong plans to take only the best runners, an all-star team that includes distance runners senior Walker Weir and sophomore Tamara Purpura, sprinter senior Bismarck Navarro, the girls’ 4-by-400 meter relay team and the boys’ 4-by-100 relay team. The Stanford Invitational is not the only meet on the track team’s agenda; Leong also plans for the team to participate in the highly competitive Arcadia Invitational on April 11 to 12, where the best high schools compete. “Only the top runners are selected,” Leong said. “We’ve had a good history there. Our milers took top five in ’96 to’97.” In recent years, the team hasn’t done as well, but they are drilling and training harder than ever. The team even worked out during the most torrential rains of the January season. Instead of pounding the sandy, muddy track, they practiced proper running form and flexibility in other places: down the worn hallway floors, on the stairs, beneath the catwalk and courtyard awnings, in the weight room — no dry ground was safe from these runners. “We train as hard as we can. Some people fear us. We work hard. It’s not a team sport. It’s just you and the clock. It’s intimidating,” said Leong, demonstrating why he’s the man depicted on the team’s famous two-toned “OBEY” t-shirts. |
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