The Penn Girls Track Team took the NIC Crown on May 9 at Rice Field in Elkhart.
The Lady Kingsmen excelled highly in virtually all categories, placing girls in the top five in each event.
Julia Economou and Mary Eubank were crucial assets for the team at this event. Economou landed her spot in first place in the 800-Meter Run against 18 other girls, with a time of 2:23.25. Eubank also placed first in the 1600-Meter Run, with a time of 5:07.87, which would go on to help her team tremendously. Both Economou and Eubank ended the meet with two blue ribbons.
The list of excellent performances doesn’t end there for the Lady Kingsmen, Sophomores Ella Bailey and Aubrey Morgan excelled in their events, with Bailey’s best performance in the 4×400 Meter Relay and Morgan’s in the 4×800 Meter Relay. Their agility and compatibility with the other runners in the relay helped them place first. Both Bailey and Morgan ended the meet with one blue ribbon
Bailey elaborates on the importance of teamwork, specifically at this meet as the Lady Kingsmen were behind in the beginning to Elkhart. However, due to their perseverance, the Kingsmen were able to pull through and their place.
“At a point in the meet we were behind a few points to Elkhart but in the end we pulled ahead with some of our stronger events,” Bailey said.
Morgan builds onto Bailey’s thoughts in regard to the ability of the team. Morgan explains that this win means a lot for the Girls Track Program, and the title of ‘NIC Champions’ will reflect on the hard work the Lady Kingsmen have put in this season and built on last season.
“I think this NIC win means we maintained the same or even better skill this year as we have previous years. I think the NIC win will eventually show all the work the whole team has put into getting where we are and we can only get better from here,” Morgan explained.
Another outstanding performance came from Sophomore runner, Janine Mbianda. Mbianda ended the meet with one blue ribbon and performed in the 4×400 Meter Relay along with Economou and Bailey, and they had an overall time of 4:12.04. Mbianda elaborates on how she was able to perform as well as she did, and how previous meets have helped her excel at NIC.
“Racing each week taught me something new that I should work on. Through my dedication, communication with my coach, and (most importantly) taking care of my mind and body, I was able to excel at that meet.”
The Lady Kingsmen next take on Sectionals at Mishawaka High School on Tuesday, May 16.
