Lowell track team achieves All-City overall team title for the 31st consecutive year

Elyse Foreman, Susan Wong|June 19, 2018

By Elyse Foreman and Susan Wong

Juniors Kathleen Mai and Emily Liu competed in the varsity girls 100m dash at All-city finals on May 26 at Kezar Stadium. Photo by Susan Wong

O n May 26, Lowell swept team titles in all four divisions for the fourth consecutive year at the Academic Athletic Association CIFSF Section track and field All-City finals which took place at Kezar Stadium. Lowell has also hit its 31st consecutive year of winning the overall title.

Left: Sophomore Zachary Parker finishes the 3200m race in the boys frosh-soph division with a new all-city record. Right: Senior Namuun Altanbagana soars over the high jump bar in the girls varsity division. Photos by Susan Wong

Senior Eva Pak faces competition from a Washington Eagle as she heads towards the finish line in the 400m race. Photo by Susan Wong

For the seniors, this championship marked the finale of their time on Lowell’s track team. “It’s kind of sad, I feel like it’s kind of the end of this big thing that we’ve been working up to since January,” senior distance runner Natalie Ewe said. Senior hurdler Kaila Wong had mixed feelings about her final event. “It feels kind of bittersweet because I’m really happy it’s my last meet, but its my last one,” she said.

Sophomore para athlete Ethan Fung and his guide runner, senior Raymond Huang finishing the 100m race. Fung also competed in the 400m at the state championship and became Lowell’s first-ever track and field state champion. Photo by Susan Wong

The pressure to win was on. Junior sprinter Christine Huang felt anxious before running the 400m. “They call it butterflies in your stomach, I call it caterpillars because they aren’t butterflies yet,” she said. After years on the team, the varsity runners say that they still feel nerves on the track. “It never really gets easier, but I’m glad to have such a great team running with me,” senior sprinter Lena O’Grady said.

Sophomore Jason Tsui heads for the finish line in the 200m dash in the frosh-soph boys division; he won the race with a time of 23.56. Photo by Susan Wong

Individuals who came in first through sixth place scored 10, 8, 6, 4, 2, 1, team point(s), respectively. Athletes who placed first through third in each event were awarded individual medals and stood atop the podium for photos.

Below are Lowell athletes who placed 1st through 3rd in each division:

Other Lowell athletes also scored points for their team, but did not place. The frosh-soph girls surpassed their competition with a total of 280 points, which was over 200 points more than the second-place team: the Lincoln Mustangs.

The frosh-soph boys won the team title with 163 points, 62 more points than second place, the Galileo Lions who earned 101 points.

The varsity girls team also came in first place with a total of 212.50 points. The second place team was the Mustangs, who scored 129.50 points.

The varisty boys team won first place by scoring 26 more points than the Mustangs. The Cardinals scored 157 total points.

The track team cheers for their teammates during the last race of the day, the 4x400m relays. Photo by Susan Wong

CIF State

After winning the AAA Championship, several Lowellites moved onto to the 100th CIF State Track & Field Championship that was held at Buchanan High School in Clovis, California on June 1–2.

At the state meet, para-athlete sophomore Ethan Fung became Lowell’s first-ever track and field state champion. He competed in three events with his guide runner, senior Raymond Huang: the 100m, 200m and 400m. Fung’s winning time in the 400m was 1:02.50.

O’Grady ran in the girls varsity 200m and 400m, with times of 26.91 and 59.26, respectively.

Senior Emil Rodriguez placed 17th at the state meet in the boys varsity 800m with a time of 1:55.95, which was also a personal best.

The start of the girls varsity 3200m at All-City finals. From left to right: Two Lincoln Mustangs, junior Charlotte Greenhill, senior Alyssa Young, sophomore Emi Steedman, senior Natalie Ewe. Photo by Susan Wong

Ewe and junior Noah Battaglia also compteted in the 3200m finals at the state championship. Their times were 11:09.16 and 9:48.90, respectively. In addition to competing in the 3200m, Ewe also ran in the girls varsity 1600m prelims and came in 21st, with a time of 5:08.82.

Senior Alexander Parker competed in the boys varsity 1600m at prelims. He finished in 26th place with a time of 4:32.95.

Senior Kegan Woodhouse runs the third leg of the varsity boys 4x400m relay at All-City finals. Photo by Susan Wong

The boys varsity 4x400m relay team, which consisted of seniors Linus Ng and Kegan Woodhouse, junior Jovin Cheung, and sophomore Jason Tsui, competed in the state prelims. They achieved a time of 3:29.77, which was their best time this season.