With a kick and push to the finish line, track and field is back in season. The girls track and field team start their season off with a home meet against Klein Oak High School on Feb 9. Klein Oak was nothing for Grand Oaks who won the meet and won 11 gold medals.

Long-distance runners, junior Staucie Lees and freshman Chloe Hames start their track season with matching first place wins in the 1600. Lees won G1 1600 with a time of 5:09 and Hames won G2 1600 with a time of  5:55. Both athletes will compete in the 1600 and show promises to perform strong this season.

“I felt really happy and excited at the end of it I really did enjoy it,” Hames said.

Mid Distance Specialist sophomore Emilee Dawson placed first in the 800 after getting in front of first and second place, just missing a bad head on collision taking both athletes out. After her first place win she wanted more, so she ran the anchor for the Distance 4×4, running the fastest split of 1:02, and bringing her 4×4 team to a 3rd place win.

“For the 800 I ran a 2:26 placing first which I didn’t expect, but was pleasant about,” Dawson said. “My goal was to beat 2:36, which would allow me to make varsity which I beat by 10 seconds. My legs were real tired afterwards, but I was happy with my race.”

This was just another successful race for senior Jordan Price, 3x district champion in the 100. At the meet, she competed in the 100 with a time of 11.89 and the 200 with a time of 24.79 placing first in both. Price is going on one last ride of high school track and can’t wait to keep competing this season before she goes off to college.

“I’m really hoping to go to state this year and win it all,” Price said. “I’ve been really dedicating a lot of my time and effort to the sport and I’m just hoping it pays off!”

Junior Grace Kowalski started her season strong with a sub 60 second 400 earning her first place. Kowalski competes in both the 400 and 800 but specialized in the 400 at the meet to focus on hitting the times she wanted. Kowalski builds her success off her teammates and is thankful for the competition they bring helping her become faster and a better athlete.

“My teammate Jasmine always is pushing me whenever we run together, helping me become a better athlete,” Kowalski said.

Hurdler phenoms, sophomore Liza Botchway and Hanalee Banks both got 1st in their hurdling competitions. Botchway ran the 100m Hurdles placing first, which was an easy breeze for her coming off of her district JV championship last spring. Banks ran the 300m hurdles, placing first with a half second lead over 2nd place.

“The competition during the 300m Hurdles was not hard at all. By the time I cleared the first hurdle I felt confident that I could win,” Botchway said.

Girls track will continue competing and winning throughout the rest of their season this year.