On May 20, Lowell’s track team won the all-city championships in all four divisions, frosh-soph and varsity boys and girls, for the second consecutive year. Despite strong competition from Galileo and Washington this year, many athletes noted the track team’s sense of community and camaraderie as the reasons for the win. “It’s odd seeing as how track seems like it’s all about individually beating other individuals, but it doesn’t turn out that way,” said freshman Henry Witt. “Even if Galileo or Washington or some other school might have won each event, we had a team that consistently tried their best and supported each other.” Sophomore Angelina Koroknay expressed similar feelings. “It’s always nice to see all the hard work that everyone put in throughout the season pay off,” she said. The track team also went through many struggles during the season, notably injuries, but were ultimately able to persevere. “I remember many workouts where we’d finish with only around 50 percent of our starting group,” Witt said. “Injuries have been a constant issue for me, but also many other people on the team,” said Koroknay. “But having an injury and coming off it is also a great learning experience.”

While many athletes accomplished new personal records at all-city, senior Jackie Holman, despite winning all three individual distance events, still looks forward to competing in the 1600m and 3200m at the state meet this weekend. “I hope to race my hardest, and ideally run some good races to finish off my high school track career,” Holman said. Similarly, senior Bruno Bartalos feels excited for tougher competition at Fresno after battling Galileo hard for the distance events at all-city. “This season has been really hard, but so much fun,” Bartalos said. “Going to state feels like the culmination of my four years on the team, and I’m really excited to give it my best out there.”

Overall, the win was a rewarding end to a tiring season for Lowell’s track team. “I think everyone did their best and contributed to us winning in every division,” senior Ryan Lee, one of the team captains, said. For many athletes, especially seniors, it was also an emotional moment as it would be their final event during their time at Lowell. “This all-city was quite bittersweet,” senior Megan Wong said. “It’s hard to say goodbye.” Yet, Lee expressed optimism for the future of the team. “Even though we have a lot of hardworking seniors leaving, there’s a lot of strong runners from every grade that will still be here,” he said. “I’m excited to see how much they can improve and hopefully win even more next year.” Underclassmen also shared similar emotions. “Some of the people I’m closest to on the team are seniors and it’s definitely going to hurt to see them go,” said junior Fe Carbajal. “I hope as a veteran I can do a decent job at filling the large shoes they’ve left for us juniors.”