Dec. 13, 2023
By Alexandra Lourenço
Editor
For many, winter is the season to curl up by the fire with a mug of hot chocolate, but for the athletes on the indoor track and field team, it means training outdoors in frigid, winter weather.
Senior Julia Tozduman, who is a three-year varsity track and field athlete, competes in the 55-meter dash, 200-meter dash, 400-meter run, high jump, long jump and triple jump. She said withstanding the weather can be challenging.
“Sometimes when it is cold, my warm-up has to be longer and more intense in order to be prepared for my events,” Tozduman said.
Next year, Tozduman will be joining the indoor and outdoor track and field teams at Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, Connecticut.
She said being on LHS’ indoor track and field team has taught her many lessons.
“I have learned that hard work pays off. All of those nights I [spent] training and all of those hard workouts that I [did] to get better shaped me as a person. They have taught me to never give up and to always try my best,” Tozduman said.
Junior Madeline Turano, who joined varsity as a freshman and participates in the 4×4 relay, 200-meter sprint and 800-meter sprint, said she is looking forward to the upcoming season.
“What work you put in [is what] you get out of it. If you don’t train hard, then you won’t get [results].”
“My expectations for this season are to break my personal record in all my events, go to state sectionals and go into group sectionals,” Turano said.
She said one of her most exciting memories on the team occurred when she was a freshman competing in the 800-meter sprint at a meet on Dec. 23, 2021.
“At the beginning of the third lap, I was in front of everyone pacing their speed, and during the fourth lap, I had a big gap between these other girls, and I was picking up speed, and then I won my first race,” Turano said. “I was so happy and so were my teammates who were cheering me on during this race. All the upperclassmen were congratulating me, and it really boosted my confidence.”
Turano said it has been fulfilling to have had accomplishments as a result of hard work.
Like Turano, senior sprinter Tyler Wise, who will be participating in the 55-meter, 200-meter and 400-meter sprints this season, said he has seen the benefits of putting his best effort into the sport.
“What work you put in [is what] you get out of it. If you don’t train hard, then you won’t get [results],” said Wise, who is in his second season on the varsity team.
He joined the team last year to stay in shape for soccer and said he likes the individual aspect of the sport.
“It’s all about what you do,” Wise said. “If you do [well], you see your own improvements.”
With 98 athletes joining the team, Wise said he is hopeful about the upcoming season.
“I think that we will have a strong team [with] a good group of sprint runners and distance runners,” said Wise.
