Every track season, teams lose veteran athletes as seniors graduate. This year’s PV high track team has many returning star athletes, with a few exceptions in the long distance team. The team has been working hard to replace the loss of Jonah Diaz, Justin Unno, and Rebecca Mehra.

This year we have Brendan Weaver, Kylie Butler, and Ryland Dreibelbus returning for their senior year. Candace Johnson and Cate Ryant will be coming back for their junior year to show their talents on the track. The team will have to rely on their current roster for the athletic talent to pull to compete for wins this season.

Although the team might be small compared to other schools, the athletes on this team are hard working, dedicated, and determined competitors that strive to beat out their opponents.

“The team is looking pretty solid this year. We’ve got some really good individuals like Brendan Weaver,” said Dreibelbus.

“I feel like there’s a lot of new talent and there’s a lot of potential, but we’ll have to see how it all comes together,” added Brendan Weaver.

Based upon the Sea King’s cross-country success, we have a good gauge on how the distance team will perform.  As for the sprinters, jumpers and throwers, it is unclear how well they will fare against this year’s competition.

Returning veterans have been working hard to improve upon last year. Weaver has been weight training to improve his results from last year and Dreibelbus has been following the training and workouts prescribed by his coaches.

With a pre-season opener against Culver City and Torrance both top competitors in their respective leagues the Ocean and Pioneer Leagues, the PV track team was able to breeze by both schools with easy wins for the two Varsity teams and the Frosh/Soph Girl’s team.

One event both Varsity teams lost was the 4×100 relay.

“Being able to exchange the baton better would be an area to improve,” said Coach Capozolla.

Some of the highlights of the meets were Weaver’s win in the 110 and 300 hurdles, Casey Celestin, Cassidy Webber and Skylar Thiel’s one mile. Duncan Reid’s  two mile in 10 minutes and 20 seconds, Cate Ryant’s 100 meters and long jump, Anna Pruter 800 meter, and Avery Durko, Julia Miliken, and Allison Moody’s swept in the 300 hurdles.

On March 13th both the boys and girls varsity teams lost their first Bay League meet to Redondo. The boys team lost a heartbreaker as the meet was decided by the last event, 4 x 400.

With the new track season, the roster is looking strong with good prospects. They lost a tight meet, however the future appears to be bright.