With the track season coming to a close and the postseason competitions over, the athletes reflected on the season. Two athletes made it to the State round, one of which being senior Nolan Bartley, who made it to State for hurdles.

“Every meet I always make sure to focus on what’s important,” Bartley said. “I believe I have been doing good all year, so I’m [glad] I ended it all with a [State trip].”

The other competitor that qualified for State was senior Jackson Norris, who is committed to the University of Southern California.

“My first goal this year was to win State, and my second [was] to break a school record,” Norris said. “Going into every meet, I would love to get gold, but the whole objective is to move on to the next round and get to State.”

Although sophomore Eli Mugambi barely missed out on the State meet, he believes he improved from his freshman year.

“I did my first 2-mile in a while, but I went out there and did great and qualified for area [at district],” sophomore Eli Mugambi said. “It’s always a fun environment when I go and work out, the workouts are really painful but the people around you always get you through it. Unfortunately, I placed fourth, just short of state, but I’m looking forward to improving and doing better next year.”

Mugambi holds a number of records for track and cross country from his freshman year.

“I’m number three for cross country in the school history as of my sophomore year, and for track I have both freshman records for the 2-mile and mile,” Mugambi said.

The team won State last year, with Norris competing and winning in the 4×400 relay and placing second in long jump. This year, Norris competed in the long jump at the State meet.

“After sticking to my training, I expect[ed] to come away with a gold medal this year,” Norris said. “After being there the last two years, I had the tools to win it this year. I had no nerves going in this year so I’m just going to go out there and enjoy my time no matter the outcome.”

Norris would stick to his word and go on to win the long jump competition at State.

“Winning at State this year meant a lot to me considering how much work I put in over the year and this is my last year, so being out there was special and it was a lot of fun competing in my last high school competiton,” Norris said.