The track and field team turned in a successful performance at the county championship May 10. The girls 4×800 meter team won their event for the first time since 2008 and the boys 4×400 meter set a school record, beating the previous mark by 2.64 seconds.

Both the boys and girls teams improved on their overall finishes from last year, placing 12th and 18th, respectively.

In the girls 4×800 meter, sophomore Breanna McDonald got the team off to a fast start, running a personal best of 2:21.57.

For the duration of the race, the team maintained its lead, which sophomore Shanti Ashley and freshman Caroline Snyder kept strong before handing off to junior Jenan El-Hifnawi.  

“I ended up getting the baton in first, and I was pretty much just terrified of losing the lead, so I went out super fast,” El-Hifnawi said. “I was like, we’re going to win counties, can’t slow down now.”

The boys 4×400 meter relay team, which featured junior Robert Hedberg and seniors Michael Gorman, Dylan Madden and David Isaacs, set a new school record with a time of of 3:25.24. Each member ran a personal best in his leg of the relay.

Hedberg said he was surprised at the outcome.

“It felt awesome,” Hedberg said. “We were super excited.”

The boys 4×800 meter team placed fourth and will qualify for states if they continue their success at regionals. All four runners on the relay team—seniors Kevin Kaufman, Dylan Madden and Omid Tabatabaee and sophomore Obi Onwuamaegbu—ran personal bests.

Other point scorers included junior Josh Engels and sophomore Aaron Bratt in the 3200 meter run, Gorman in the individual 400 meter dash and freshman Alicia Lauwers in the girls 3200 meter run.

The track and field team will next compete at regionals May 17-18 at Quince Orchard High School.