From hosting an all-throwers relay to competing in the 2024 SWAC Conference Championship, over the past week, the Green Hope outdoor track and field team blended the fun of senior night with the aggressiveness of the conference meet perfectly.
Last week, the team hosted their senior night meet against Cary High School on April 25, allowing their senior members to pick which events they would like to participate in. Among the highlights of the meet was the race between the Green Hope women’s 4x100m relay and men’s 4x100m relay, in which the boys’ relay was composed primarily of throwers. Ultimately, the girls won the meet with a score of 68.50 and the boys finished second with a score of 53.50.
After their senior night, the team competed in the conference meet on Apr. 29 and 30. Many athletes left all they had on the track, with 24 personal records (PRs) throughout the meet.
Throughout the meet the team had multiple top-two finishes, with Audrey Mentler (‘25) placing second in the pole vault, Ivana Gomez (‘25) placing first in the triple jump and second in the long jump, Cameron Gregg (‘24) placing first in the 110m hurdles and 300m hurdles, Theo Zalc (‘24), Andrew Leary (‘26), Matheo Destouesse (‘25) and Sebastian Percival-Shim placing second in the 4x800m relay, Gabe Cardenas (‘24) placing second in the 1600m and Corinne Isaacs (‘25) placing first in the 100m and 200m.
Gomez was further named the Most Valuable Athlete in field events of the conference and was presented with an award to commemorate her outstanding athletic performance at the meet.
Days in advance, Cardenas was already preparing for the meet. “I kind of have a preparation plan when an important meet is coming up. The days following up to it I cut soda and sugary drinks out of my diet and I try to get lots of sleep. I also eat a lot of bananas, they help. I eat a sandwich at least three hours before I race and a big dinner the night before helps too,” he explained.
Although he wasn’t feeling perfect, Cardenas said, “I felt good during the race. I was a bit stuck in the upper middle pack for a bit, but towards the end I was able to break away and have a big kick. [Throughout the race I was thinking] a combination of how I can pass the guy in front of me, how many laps I have left and keeping myself focused.”
When he crossed the finish line, Cardenas couldn’t believe how well he performed. “I wasn’t expecting a PR that day and I was able to walk off the track with one. Though I didn’t win, I passed my teammates Dax [Mahone (‘24)] and Seamus [O’Driscoll (‘25)]. I do all my workouts and easy runs with them, so being in front was a nice change. But really, any amount of success I owe to them and the rest of my team for pushing me,” he explained.
Cardenas was not the only runner with a strong showing, with Isaacs running 12.4 in the 100m dash and 25.14 in the 200m dash, winning 20 points for Green Hope.
Like Cardenas, Isaacs prepared for the meet with good eating habits. “Besides the usual preparation at practice, I made sure to eat a good pre-race meal, visualize my races, and just get myself excited to compete”, said Isaacs.
As her race started, Isaacs focused on pushing herself to go faster and ensuring her competition stayed behind. Despite some strong competition, she still managed to win her events. “I was tired but proud of myself for my performance,” she explained.
Going into the NCHSAA 4A Mideast Regionals competition, Isaacs and Cardenas hope to PR in their events. For future track seasons, Isaacs wants to enhance her technique to improve her performance. As for Cardenas, in cross country, he wants to run below 15:45 in the 5km, and in track, he aims to hit 1:54 in the 800m and sub 4:15 in the 1600m.
As the rest of the team prepares for regionals and the state championship, they’ll continue putting effort into practice and ensuring they have a good diet for competition.
