Centennial Indoor Track Performs Exceptionally at the 25th Hispanic Games and the Howard County/Anne Arundel County Meet

Words: Joey Sedlacko & Natalie Knight-Griffin

Photos: Eliza Andrew

On Friday, January 4, and Saturday, January 5, the Centennial Indoor Track team competed in the 25th Hispanic Games. Over the weekend, the team travelled to New York City to participate in the annual indoor track meet.

Multiple runners finished in the top ten of their respective events. In the girls’ triple jump for the Freshman/Sophomore division, sophomore Cherakie Pierre placed sixth with a jump of 30-10.50 meters; breaking Centennial’s long jump record. In the Novice division, junior Tyler Dan finished first in the boys 55 meter dash with a time of 6.71. Also in the novice division, junior Zack Garwacki ran a 8.71 in the boys’ 55 meter hurdles to place ninth.

In terms of Varsity, Centennial shined in the field events and long distance events. Junior Anthony Matthews finished ninth in the boys’ triple jump after jumping 42-03.05 meters. Another junior, Jack Ragonese placed tenth in the boys’ shot put. Senior Alison Betler represented Centennial well in the girls’ 1500 meter race and one mile race. In both events, Betler placed tenth.

The indoor track team’s following meet, the Howard County/Anne Arundel County Challenge, took place at the PG Sportsplex on Monday, January 6. Both boys’ and girls’ Varsity teams competed against 11 other schools in the region.

Numerous Centennial runners from both the boys’ and girls’ varsity teams placed in the top five of their individual events. In regards to the boys’ Varsity team, junior Zachary Garwacki placed second in the 55 hurdles. Sophomore Adrian Nwakalor took fifth in the boys’ triple jump.

The girls’ team excelled throughout the meet, as junior Leah Alkire placed fourth in both the girls 500 meter as well as the girls’ 500 dash. The Varsity girls took fourth out of all eleven teams in the 4×400 relay. Senior Christina Stavlas dominated her respective events, landing an impressive third place in both the girls’ 3200 meters and girls’ 300 meters.

Centennial’s indoor track team will next meet on Tuesday, January 15, for the Howard County Championships.