By Benjamin Hong, Staff Writer
On May 27th, the River Hill girl’s outdoor track and field team lifted the state championship trophy after a dominant performance over runners-up schools Northern and Springbrook. It being the first time that a River Hill track team has won a state championship in over a decade, this victory was a historic moment for the team of 8, who displayed astonishing levels of athleticism and determination that week.
To have a team with a chance of winning a state championship, each team member must first qualify for their respective events through individual scores and times at a regional competition, and only those that make the cutoff for their events move on to collectively represent their team at states. The events mentioned above test athletes’ running, throwing, and jumping abilities, through contests as varied as hurdling, discus-throwing, the long jump, and relays. And while some teams at this year’s state championship had athletes competing in more events than River Hill’s team did, several standout performances by the Hawks ensured River Hill’s victory in the end.
Among these star athletes, freshman Marella Virmani’s performance was particularly impressive, bringing in an incredible three gold medals (800m, 1600m, and 4x800m relay) and setting multiple personal bests. Having begun training for states starting in mid-March along with the rest of the team, Virmani explains that “leading up to states, our team trained with a higher intensity than ever before. Knowing that we could have a chance of securing a state championship trophy, we were very motivated. Everyone put in 100% effort every day at practice to benefit themselves and the team.” When asked about her plans going forward, she stated that a goal “for the upcoming seasons as a team would be to become back-to-back state champions,” and that individually she is “striving to be able to win states in the mile and 800 going forward.”
Of course, every star team requires an equally exceptional coach to provide a guiding light. And whether she is working with a specific athlete on technique or cheering on the whole team to the point of losing her voice, Ammera Schmidt is that coach. When asked about her coaching ethos, she stated that “ we take you at whatever ability you currently have and hone you into a more efficient, better functioning, technique-driven athlete. It doesn’t matter to me if you are the fastest or the slowest, all I care about is that you are putting it all out there and running as fast or throwing and jumping as fast and far as you possibly can.” And despite being flush with success coming off of the recent victory, Schmidt still has big plans for the team going forward, commenting that she wants to “recruit and develop even more exceptional athletes so we can keep winning at every meet that we attend. My hope is that winning the state championship will highlight the hard work and dedication of both the athletes and coaches and hopefully inspire other athletes to join our winning team.”
The state championship, as well as the individual awards the athletes brought home, serve as a noteworthy reminder of River Hill’s exceptionalism. However, it is essential to remember that these athletes won through no other factors outside of their determination and focus on preparing for the event. In this way, the win is not only a celebratory moment but also a perfect example of the power of dedication that can be applicable to any student’s life, which is reflected in Coach Schmidt’s personal life mantra: “I am, I can, I will, I do.”