Unified Track Wins Another Regional Championship and Eyes a State Repeat
by Maddie Hommey
The WHS Unified Track team competed at the District Three Championships on Monday, May 1st, at 3:00pm at TJ High School. The Lions took first place yet again!
The Lions competed against Urbana, Tuscarora, Middletown, and Catoctin in the Potomac Division. The two divisions are decided by size, and Walkersville has one of the biggest teams.
Having a large team gives Walkersville an edge in events like the 4×100 and 4×400 relay because they have enough members to create multiple teams. The Lions put two relays in each of those races where as most schools have a hard time creating one team. Not only do the Lions have multiple relay teams, they have winning relay teams.
In the 4×400 relay, the two Walkersville teams have placed first and second in every meet they have had this year. This is quite remarkable and gains points for the team. Prior to this meet, Walkersville had not faced Urbana yet this year. Before running his relay, freshman Herbie Matthews expressed concern that “that kid from Urbana is fast!” However, Walkersville sealed the win with quite a lead.
“I try not to pay attention to the standings during the meet, I will just find out at the end; it’s easier for me that way so I don’t get nervous,” said coach William Scheetz. Scheetz is always confident in his team and knows they give their best effort at every meet. He makes sure everyone runs an event they want to do and always reassures the athletes that “You just have to do your best and finish.” That is exactly what each member of the team does, and they continue to do it well.
It is not just the WHS Unified track team’s relay’s that dominate. Throughout the entire time during the meet, results were being announced as they came in; it seemed like Walkersville had someone place in almost every heat of a race or flight of a field event. Often, there was more than just one Walkersville athlete in the top three. Sometimes Walkersville even placed first, second, and third in a race. “My first year of unified track has been really fun and I enjoy seeing how excited everyone is all the time and especially after winning” said freshman Erin Gant.
After each race you could see the proud smiling faces of each Walkersville runner. The team also cheered as loud as they could when they were announced as the champions while leaving the stadium. Medals will be sent to the Lions as they could not be distributed due to an incoming storm. “Despite the rainy weather yesterday the track meet went very well and we came together as a team to pull out another CMC title. I am very excited for states next week and with it being my last track meet on the unified team, I hope we can end with the title of three time state champs,” shared senior Rylee Duncan.
The Lions will compete for another medal and their third straight unified track state championship on Wednesday, May 10th, at the Prince George’s Sports and Learning Complex. They are also competing to win unified track states to become the first team to win a state championship in all three unified sports in one year.
