On Wednesday, April 23, the boys and girls outdoor track teams traveled to East Rockingham High School for the 40th annual City-County Championship. Senior Diego Avila ran the 1600 and 800m while sophomore Emma Jeanette ran the 400m. At the meet, Avila got a time of 5:01 for the mile and 2:15 for the 800.

“At the City-County Championships I wanted to break five minutes again in the mile. That was the goal and then I had the 800m afterwards,” Avila said. “I was really excited but nervous. It’s a normal feeling I get everytime before a race or a meet.”

Avila has been doing track for 3 years because of his Eastern Mennonite University (EMU) friend that encouraged him to run and competed against Avila to make him better.

“I joined track because I had a very close friend convince me to do it. His name was Derrick Chirinos, now a runner for EMU,” Avila said. “When Derrick was in highschool, we would always compete every chance we got.”

Jeanette, a 2 year runner, was aiming to run sub 65 at Wednesday’s meet, but that didn’t happen. Her fastest time for the 400m is a 66.9. She admits that having a goal is her real motivation during the track meets.

“A lot of my teammates motivate me and other runners from different schools,” Jeanette said. “Really focusing on a certain goal helps a ton when it comes to running.”

To improve for the next competition, Jeanette believes that besides the physical aspect, a person’s mind must be set on a goal before the race.

“Running is half physical and half mental. There’s only so much training you can do to try to speed up your time, but when it really comes down to it, it’s all in your head and depends on how bad you want it.” Jeanette said.

For the mile, Avila’s strategy consists of targeting one person with a time closest to his. He runs his fastest in the last lap to get a strong finish.

“Usually for the mile, my strategy is [to] ask coach for the performance list and then find someone who is a bit faster than you,” Avila said. “When the gun goes off, [I] find that person and pace him off. When the last lap comes I try my best to explode with power and speed to get to the finish.”