For those who may need to be made aware, the Victor Track team recently participated in the highly significant Division 1 championship meet. I was privileged to attend this event, capturing their achievements and soaking in the entire track meet experience.

But before we start, I think understanding the gravity of the event is essential, and this is shown by a quote by Junior distance runner Brady Wortmann when he said, “This meet is always huge for us every year; it’s the first time we get to see what a real scoring meet looks like and where we might fall when it comes to counties or sectionals.” 

The day started hot for Victor to score in many critical distance and sprinting events, specifically runners like Drew Raulli got Victor track essential scoring in the 1600m, and Lucas Heilmann got critical scoring in the 600m, which led to the Victor boys going into the relays with a firm hold of 1st place. After an excellent relay by the boys’ 4×800 team finishing second behind Rush-Henrieta, it seemed the meet was all but won for the Victor boys. 

When asked about the excellent relay performance, sophomore distance runner Garret Fahy described it as “something we expected, we all gave it everything we had and ran a great relay.”

Unfortunately for the Victor boys, after some field events scoring came in, and some injuries came up with some of the leading sprinter relay runners; Victor slipped to third place.

Despite the final standings, it was an extraordinary day for the Victor Boys track team. They surpassed the expectations set before the meet, with numerous athletes, including runners, jumpers, and throwers, achieving lifetime personal records. 

Overall, while the outcome may not have been what the boys were hoping for at the end of the day, this meet was a valuable experience. Where the guys were able to gauge their spot within the section, compete at a high level, and truly put the hard work and dedication they have put in throughout the season to the test. 

Moving forward, the boys understand where they have to be when it comes time for sectionals, and I’m sure that they will get where they need to be and win big as a team.