On Feb. 26 and 27, the McLean indoor track team competed in the VHSL Class 6 Indoor Track and Field Championships. The school sent ten runners to the state championship, running numerous different events.

“We worked really hard over the past couple of weeks,” senior Luca Hinton said. “We tried to focus more on speed and lowering the mileage every practice.”

On Monday, senior Marie-Odette de Marcellus placed fourth in the girls high jump and freshman Sophie Knudson tied for 15th in the girls pole vault. Senior Jamie Coates placed 12th in the boys shot put and senior Kevin Kabasele placed 11th in the 55 meter hurdles. Seniors Liam Riley, Luca Hinton, Jackson Coombes and junior Landon Moore set a school record for the boys 4 by 800 meter relay and placed sixth.

“Beating the record felt really good,” Hinton said. “The team definitely knew it was within our ability and we were glad to showcase our performance on the big stage.”

Tuesday also marked a busy day for the team as senior Jonas Knudson placed 12th in the boys long jump and 9th in the boys pole vault. Senior Liam Riley placed 9th in the Boys 1000 meter and sophomore Dani Diaz placed 15th in the Girls 3200 meter race.

“Overall the team did pretty well,” Hinton said. “We worked really hard over the course of the season and it was great to see everyone succeed at the highest level.”

All in all, the Highlanders were able to perform deftly in one of the most prestigious competitions in all of indoor track. Many of their runners look forward to outdoor track and field now, and hope to continue their success into the spring season.

“During the spring season we hope to just strengthen as much as we can on the track,” Hinton said. “There will also be an emphasis on staying healthy, which our team has struggled with in the past.”