As track dashes through their season and heads into finals, most athletes will be taking this upcoming weekend to rest
and recover. However, two athletes will be doing the exact opposite, preparing to compete at Mount San Antonio College on Saturday.
Part of their preparation came during Wednesday’s home meet against the Westchester Comets and the University Wildcats, which was also track’s Senior Night.
Coach Ivan Gomez describes the meet as a “fun, celebratory way to end the regular season.”
The difference between both aforementioned meets could not be more stark, with the meet at Mount SAC being a countrywide invitational that “features the best of the best athletes,” according to Gomez.
“You have to meet a standard and then within that standard, you have to be one of the top in their selection,” said Gomez. “They’re super strict on who makes it.”
Venice has two athletes featured in this event: junior Paul Tranquilla running the mile and sophomore Lawrence Kensigner throwing shot put, according to Gomez.
Tranquilla has made major strides this season, achieving a mile time of 4:19 flat at the South Bay Varsity Championships on April 13, breaking a personal record.
“The environment is definitely heightened, it’s very competitive,” he said.
While it’s interesting to highlight individual runners, according to Gomez, it’s important to spotlight the collective efforts of the team as a whole.
“We’ve been working really hard this season, and we’ve started to become more of a family, with sprinters
and distance runners coming together,” he said.
Despite the newfound bond between athletes, the team’s commitment is still key.
“We just need to keep doing the workouts and keep coming to practice,” said Gomez. “The most important part of the season is coming next week.”
Ultimately, Gomez hopes to “make it all the way to City Championships and be well represented in as many events as we can be.”
“I think that we’re finally growing our numbers and finally getting back on the map coming out of COVID,” he said.
Given the abundance of new runners that enter the team every year, it seems as though many Gondoliers feel the same way.
While it may be difficult to keep up with their speed, it’s hard to take your eyes off of this promising team as they enter their postseason run.
