This Tuesday, Feb. 20, the indoor track team competed at the Maryland 4A State Championships. The Vikes impressed, with four top-ten individual placements. The girls’ team placed 16th overall, while the boys’ side placed 19th.

The only individual placement for the boys’ team was a spectacular second-place finish for junior Mateo Gros-Slovinsky in the 3200-meter. Slovinsky set a personal record by a whopping six seconds as he came in with a 9:24.09 time, giving the boys’ team all of its final eight points. Slovinsky is used to seeing the podium, as he has had multiple other second-place finishes this season and consistently put points on the board for the Vikes.

On the girls’ side, the Vikes notched three top-ten finishes with a total of 13 points. In the 3200-meter, juniors Katie Greenwald and Ella Werkman secured top-five finishes. Greenwald came in with a season-best of 10:58.17, taking third place and earning the team six points. Werkman finished fifth, recording a personal record time of 11:18.74, and earned four points. The duo of Werkman and Greenwald have been outstanding this season, especially in the 3200-meter, as they have had numerous top-five placements. The last placement for the girls came from junior Ava Wilson, who took sixth place in the pole vault, with a height of nine feet and three inches, which tacked on the final three points for the Vikes. 

“It feels great to have my best season performance at states,” Greenwald said. “I feel like the timing was really right for me to race well, and it meant even more after working back from an injury in the fall.”

Overall, the Vikes have had a season to remember. From starting with multiple meets canceled due to construction and inclement weather to a strong showing at states, the team has overcome adversity every step of the way. The Vikes now look forward to outdoor track, a spring sport right around the corner. The season kicks off in just two weeks, on Mar. 1.

Ella Werkman is a news writer for The Black & White