The sound of athletes murmuring before their events fills the gym. It is clear who is nervous, and who is confident in how they are going to perform in their event.

That’s when the starting gun sounds, and the athletes are off.

McLean’s track team, which consists of both boys and girls, performed well in a variety of events that night, including the boys 4×400 meter relay, boys high jump, girls 500 meter dash. and the girls 1,000 meter run.

“I feel that the meet went pretty well, but I know I could’ve done better,” freshman Thais Rolly said.

However, this is a huge understatement, considering the fact that Rolly was the reason McLean took home first place for the girls 1,000 meter run.

“So many of the people on our team are extremely nice, which comes with a lot of them downplaying how great they actually did in a meet,” sophomore Hannah Soberman said. “They also tend to have really high standards for themselves.”

This kindness of so many of the athletes becomes even more apparent as they watch each other compete during the meet.

“I had a blast hanging out with my team and I really do love cheering on my teammates [during their events],” junior Casey Prestidge said.

The athletes cheering each other on helps those who are receiving the support to feel the strength of the bond they have formed with their teammates.

“My favorite part of the meet was when everyone cheered for me when I ran the girls 500 meter because I was really stressed before [the race] started, and seeing that people cared made me feel a lot better,” Soberman said.

Even with the support from their teammates, all the athletes still had to work incredibly hard on their own to get to the point that they were at on Friday night.

“The hardest part of this season was definitely the difficult workouts and going to the weight room for the first time,” Rolly said. “It was a challenge for me but I have improved over the course of the season.”

The team is now divided into those who are preparing for districts, and those who have finished off their winter track season.

“For me, the season is over but I am going to attend the optional practices and prepare for spring track because I really enjoy running and staying in shape,” Soberman said.

For some of those who qualified for districts, their next meet will be on Jan. 30. That meet will carry even more importance than the one that took place on Friday night.

“The season is almost over, but I am really looking forward to running in districts and hopefully in regionals,” Rolly said.

Click the link below to view the full results from the track meet.

https://va.milesplit.com/meets/373815/results/684847/formatted#.XjCt6yROmEd