On the weekend of March 15th through 17th, four athletes from Davie’s track team participated in the Adidas Indoor Track Nationals in Virginia Beach, Virginia, and one at the New Balance Indoor Nationals in Boston, Massachusetts. Sophomores Austin Sweet and Ethan Lakey, juniors Thomas Essic and Cooper Williams, and senior Mason Kuhnemann all competed with the top high school track athletes from across the country.
Sophomore Ethan Lakey and junior Thomas Essic ran the mile at the Adidas Indoor Track Nationals on Sunday, March 17th. They competed against 70 other runners, ranging from sophomores to seniors. Both athletes said they increased their training to 50 miles per week to prepare for this meet and their efforts were worthwhile. Lakey placed 18th and ran a personal best of 4:33. Essic placed 24th and also ran a personal best of 4:35. Lakey said that he was “satisfied” with how he ran on Sunday, March 17th.
“I ran a personal best even though I wasn’t really feeling the best and I knocked off a lot of time from my old PR,” Lakey said.
Essic and Lakey said their favorite memories from the Adidas Indoor Track Nationals were the cool-down run and talking about their race. Lakey also stated that “the beach vibes” were nice.
Standout sophomore Austin Sweet has shown that he is a force to be reckoned with when it comes to pole vault. In his freshman season, he showed amazing growth as he placed 9th overall in the 4A state competition. Throughout the indoor track season, Sweet was able to meet the qualifying standards for the national meet easily. When asked what Sweet did to prepare for this meet he stated, “I woke up and got a good breakfast before going to the meet early and got a good warm-up preparing myself for the competition.” Through this method of training, Sweet was able to pole vault 13 feet and 11.5 inches. With this, he placed 9th overall, beating high schoolers from all across the country.
After coming off a successful indoor track season, Sweet reflected on his goals going into the outdoor season. “My main goals in the outdoor season would be clearing 15 feet in the pole vault, 6 feet in the high jump, and improving my hurdle times.”
Senior Mason Kuhnemann has been a leader throughout his time on the track team. While he has always excelled in a multitude of events, he is a standout high jumper, easily qualifying for the Adidas Nationals.
Sixty of America’s top high jumpers competed in this event, showing there was fierce competition to be had. In the face of this competition, Kuhnemann showed great success jumping five feet ten inches and tying with twelve other athletes. This was a great way to end his senior indoor track season, and we cannot wait to see what his outdoor season has in store.
Junior Cooper Williams was the only Davie athlete to compete at the New Balance Indoor Nationals in Boston, Massachusetts. After coming off a huge win at the North Carolina 4A Indoor Track State Meet, where he set a personal record, he was ready to show his talents on a national level. When asked how he has gotten to this point in his career, Williams stated, “I’ve had to really work my technique and work with different coaches in order to find success in this sport, but in order to go forward with both shot put and discus, I will have to keep doing what I’ve got to do and work on keeping my energy up during slow meets.” Williams ended this meet placing seventeenth overall and throwing fifty-six feet and ten inches.
The track athletes represented Davie well at the competition and there is great pride in their accomplishments as well as anticipation for their future seasons to see them carry on their success.
