This past Friday, the Green Hope Track & Field team took their talents to the JDL Fast Track for the 2026 Quad City 7 Indoor Track Conference Championship. While the Falcons failed to take gold in either the men’s or women’s field, tons of individual performers showed out, making the school proud.

To kick the night off, the boys and girls 4x800m relay both placed 5th in the conference, with the times of 8:25:81 and 10:40:25. As for other relays, the girls 4x200m made up of Teresa Qian (‘26), Shreeya Gole (‘28), Sophia Blasigh (‘29) and Ellie Beck (‘27) ran a season best 1:44:50 which earned them first place in the meet and the conference. On the other side, the boys’ 4x200m, made up of Everett Bruce (‘28), Rohan Bhavsar (‘27), Ryder Schorzman (‘27) and Tyson Hardy (‘28), ran a blazing time of 1:31.70, which earned them 3rd in the conference. Rounding out the relays, the boys 4x400m of Jedidah Volcheck (‘27), Andrew Leary (‘26), Ryder Schorzman (‘27) and Ethan Beck (‘27) put on a show running 3:28.35, earning them 3rd place.

Other stellar performances from the night coming from the sprinting section include Shreeya Gole (‘28), who ran a 41.75 in the 300m, earning herself fourth in the conference. Ethan Beck (‘27) ran a thrilling 500m race, with an ending time of 1:06.89, earning him second in the conference. Rounding it out for the sprinters, Ellie Beck ran a time of 1:14.76, placing first in the conference and establishing her as the new NC #4.

In the field, Teresa Qian (‘26) jumped 4-11.00 in the high jump, placing her third in the conference. Alex Robinson (‘26) vaulted 11-07.00 in the pole vault, also giving him third place in the conference. Kyle Richards (‘28) threw 45-10.00 in the shot put, earning him second place, while Sam Cowen (‘28) threw 38-05.50 in the shot put, giving her the title of conference champion.

As for the distance section, Gabriel Cardenas (‘26) ran a turbo time of 2:30.46 in the 1000m, giving him second in the conference and eighth in the state. Isabel Short (‘28) ran a PR in the 1000m with a time of 3:01.44, rewarding herself with first place in the conference. Lastly, sophomore sensation Nathan Vo (‘28) ran a tactical race in the 3200m with a time of 9:41.55, earning himself also a first-place title in the conference.

Vo took first place, edging out Senior Evan Rounds of Panther Creek by less than a second. “I was motivated by all my teammates cheering me on… the 3200 isn’t the most exciting race, but hearing them all cheer my name really kept me going.” As just a sophomore, Vo spoke on his competitive nature and how he manages against older competition, “It’s not too bad really, I’ve been running since sixth grade, so I have similar experience to the older runners… I’ve learned to not be afraid.” Vo plans on continuing his indoor season, with the State Championship on the horizon, emphasizing the support around him that keeps him in a positive direction, “The joy of running with friends, as well as the support system I have at home, keeps me motivated… I’m always looking forward to the practice the following day.”

As for the head of the Falcons, Coach Ross is in her tenth year as the Track & Field/Cross Country Coach. Coach Ross values the work ethic of her athletes, stating, “As a coach, you get a front-row seat to the day-in and day-out process that comes with being an athlete…watching young people put in all this work and seeing it pay off is very fun.” As a former runner herself, Coach Ross knows what it takes to be great. She emphasized Nathan Vo’s performance, stating, “Nathan had a race where he really went after it, he didn’t stay comfortable… he made the right moves to compete, and he raced tactically.” Lastly, Coach Ross wants the team, as well as the school community, to understand that “both on the boys and the girls side, each individual performance contributes to how the team does as a whole… each and every person has a role inhelping the team”.

With an overall great outing at the Governor’s Classic, the Falcons look to continue to improve this Indoor season as they prepare for the NCHSAA 8A State Championship, Nationals, and beyond.