The Pleasant Valley Girls Track and Field season got a cold start on February 11th, but it did not stop them from putting in a good practice to kick off the new season.
Last season, there were four outdoor meets and an indoor meet cancelled due to the weather. These limited opportunities impacted the team’s chance to compete through the season.The team ended last season as MAC champions for the fourth consecutive year. The 4x100m relay team of Kira Arthofer, Harmony Creasy, Adrea Arthofer, and Amaria Kirby broke a school-record with a time of 48.10 in the prelims. They also placed fourth overall in the final with a time of 48.62 in the 4x100m relay at the 2018 state meet.
This season, head Coach Kenny Wheeler is looking forward to another great season. “I’m really looking forward to creating an even greater sense of community and connection amongst our team and staff – something we always pride ourselves on first.”
Along with the start of the new season, it was the start of a new job for the new assistant coach Maddie Reynolds, a Pleasant Valley Alum (‘13) and UNI grad. Reynolds graduated as one of the most decorated distance athletes in PV’s cross-country history.
With hope of being MAC champs for a fifth year in a row, Wheeler believes that this team has what it takes to go far his year.
“I believe there are many poised to take the next step and lead this team throughout the course of the season, and I could talk about all of them, Morgan Ramirez, Caitlin Crome, Sophie Curtis, and Emily Wood will certainly have a chance to impact our team as sprinters, jumpers, and/or hurdlers. Junior Lauren Buechel continues to make great strides forward and freshmen like Sydney Brandmeyer and Molly Rawat look to build off their great XC seasons to complement our senior distance group.”
There are also many field events to watch out for like the throwing and jumping events. “I’m excited to see the continued development of our throws group and I believe Riley Vice, Kaitlyn Morgan, and Ilah Perez-Johnson are all poised for big seasons with Coach Vice’s leadership.”
Senior distance runner Mallory Lafeaver has put in numerous miles this past offseason in order to get ready for this upcoming season. “I’ve trained quite a bit over the winter time. I’ve put in more than 200 miles in a combination of mileage runs and tempo runs. Training in the winter makes a huge difference and gives me a good head start going into the season.” Lafeaver hasn’t been the only one putting in work this offseason, there has been many opportunities for each event to get in some good work in the offseason.
Here’s to the start of a season full of hope. Be sure to come on down to Spartan Stadium on April 5th to check out the girls Track and Field team during their only home meet of the season.
