By Aaron Parham ’26
As the weather warms up, so does Conestoga Valley’s High School Track and Field team, who has recently started preparing for the spring season. The team has already participated in a scrimmage against Penn Manor, competed against Mannheim Central, and played against a few other schools.
Steve Banh, the Head Varsity Coach for the Boys Sprints and 4×1 Relays explains, “We have some good returning athletes. We have some new editions in the freshman class that have been showing really good signs of contributions, even some late bloomers.”
Banh adds, “We have a fundraiser coming up so we can take care of uniform stuff, traveling for invitationals, and making sure [the athletes] are well fed.”
Abby Way has been involved in CV Track and Field for 6 years now including 4 years as the Head Coach for the Girls’ Javelin, Shot put and Discus said, “We are having a pretty good season, we’re definitely seeing a little bit of a decline in numbers this year in terms of girls but the girls that we do have are absolutely phenomenal hard workers, and are super consistent.”
Senior Kameron Harling said, “Track is very fun honestly I definitely wish I started very soon maybe even in middle school cause I feel like if I did start in middle school or even freshman year I definitely would be in a better place than what I am right now”. He also suggested that, “if you like running, feel like running with friends, racing and just being athletic, track is definitely a good spot even if you want to throw, or feel like throwing track is good for Discus and Javelin
Eliza Hess ’28 said, “Something that has really stuck with me is when I was able to do well in both the 1600 and 3200 against Manheim Central, I rarely run these two events in the same meet because it’s a pretty exhausting combination so I was proud with how I did.”
Hess also commented, “The team culture this year has been really close. A lot of us do cross country, winter track, and then spring track together and have been doing so for years so we know each other really well. Whether we’re playing pickleball or Dutch Blitz or just eating at Dons, I feel like we always have a ton of fun.”
Trinity Ford ‘28 commented that practice looks like, “Warming up with everybody on the team, then a quick meeting with the coaches about any upcoming events or post meets, after that I join my event groups to do my workout of the day, workouts will vary depending on if it’s pre or post meet.”
Ford also stated that, “While you do have to be physically in shape, it’s also a very mentally challenging event and you have to know how to run the 400s so you don’t get gassed too quick but also not go too slow that you end up in last place.”
Junior Greta Reuleke who does Javelin and Shotput commented, “Track has given me really great opportunities in improving myself, getting new friends” she added, “That just helps to build also a sense of community that you get from this sport”
Reuleke also said, “I usually spend the weekends recovering but also sometimes going over the technical stuff and trying to improve the stances you have to do especially for Shot put” and, “It’s all in the small things”
Freshman Thrower Mya Hershey said, “Transitioning from middle school up to high school was a big change but the coaching like Coach Way was super helpful with getting your technique down”.