| All-star girls' relay team surpasses expectations (4/08) | | Print | |
| Written by Sandra Chen | |
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Running quickly and running well are two very different things. Running quickly might help with self-scheduling or chasing down a bus. Most people can run quickly, but not many people can run well, at least not as well as the varsity girls’ four-by-400 meter relay team, which can coordinate hand-offs and consistently nab high placings at meets.
“It feels good to be a part of the team,” sophomore four-by-400-meter runner Katharine Jarvis said. “There’s a lot of pressure to do well, but it feels amazing.” This all-star team composed of Jarvis, sophomore Tamara Purpura and seniors Latasha Alston and Echi Anoruo ran against James Logan High School on Saturday, April 19 at the Bay Area Top Eight night meet. Logan’s team is one of the top three in the state, tough competition for the Cardinals, who are accustomed to dominating their league, but don’t have outside recognition. “Whenever we go to meets outside of the city, they look down on us,” Alston said. “San Francisco’s teams have always been behind.” In fact, according to head coach Andy Leong, Lowell’s overall average time was about eight seconds behind Logan‘s time. “Was” being the operative word. On Saturday, the girls defied expectations and took first place. “It’s cool because San Francisco people don’t get much recognition,” Allston said. Despite placing first, Jarvis called the girls’ four-by- 400 meter time “decent.” “Our time wasn’t that great, but we still did really well,” she said. The team also made its mark at the Arcadia Invitational in Los Angeles on Saturday, April 12 with a combined time of 3:57:11, eight seconds faster than their previous record. “The relay team did very well,” Leong said. “They placed second out of 25 teams. The team broke a city record.” On top of that, each team member ran under one minute for the 400-meter split. According to Jarvis, the talented team is tight-knit and “pushes each other to do their best.” The speedy relay team will join the rest of the runners, jumpers and throwers at the next season meet at 3:30 p.m. on May 1 in McAteer Stadium against Mission and Marshall. |
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