Ryan Vespi and Murphy Foss
Staff Writers
Dominance has always been a tradition for the Jamesville-DeWitt High School Indoor Track team. They are hopeful for yet another winning season, as many members of the team feel the pressure to maintain J-D’s legacy.
This year they have not placed first in their first three meets, but have been second place every time. However, what might be considered a slow start is not a cause for concern, says long-distance running coach Juan Martinez. “We’ve been doing great,” said Martinez, “the girls missed first by four points last meet and the guys had some great performances individually.”
The team is very hopeful for a shot at another sectional win and think that their strong leadership will give them an edge. Many on the team including freshman long-distance runner Parker Cote look up to senior Patrick Dye who has verbally committed to Johns Hopkins University. “Pat really motivates us to work hard and overall he’s just a great leader,” said Cote. Freshman sprinter Amirah Britt thinks that senior sprinter Seth Blair also plays a big role in motivating the team. “He pushes us really hard,” said Britt.
Many runners, including Britt and freshman sprinter Josh Duby, run indoor track to stay in shape for spring sports like lacrosse, but this does not change their motivation to get to sectionals or to pick up tough wins. “There’s no doubt my goal is still to get to sectionals,” said Duby, “we also need to make sure we take down (Fayetteville-Manlius High School), they’re a tough rival and if anyone can stop them it’s us.” (Cicero-North Syracuse High School) has also been a rival of J-D the past couple years, “They are a tough opponent,” said sophomore Juan Smith; “we always feel the need to come out on top against them.”
The team is feeling good so far but they hope to gain more momentum and pick up the pace as they head further into the season. They are looking for another sectional banner to be hanging in the high school by February. They want to seize the great opportunity and they feel that they
need to capitalize on the strong group of seniors that are making their final sectional run this year.
