On Saturday Feb. 20, while most Staples students were enjoying their vacations, the girls’ and boys’ track teams had other ideas. Running at the annual State Opens in New Haven, the boys raced to a sixth place finish while the girls placed in seventh. The boys, led by Yale bound James Lewis ‘16 and rising star Zak Ahmad ’17 received 19 points, 37 points behind winners Danbury. Ahmad set the pace with a third place finish in the 1600 meter race while Lewis finished second in the 1000 meter race.
“I couldn’t quite keep up with the two guys, but I still got my personal record and ended up really happy with the race,” Ahmad said.

Meanwhile, on the girls’ side, Stanford bound Hannah Debalsi ‘16 put on another great performance as the girls obtained 18 points, 39 points behind winners Windsor. Hannah raced to a second place finish in the 1600 meter race, while she won the 3200 meter race. Susie Martin ‘17 also stood out for the girls’ team running to a 16th place finish in the 3200 meter.

Overall, this meet bodes well for the both teams as they look to end their indoor seasons on a high note. Their next race is the New England regional meet where Debalsi will run individually and the the boys will run in relays.

“We’ll be running an all out team in the 4×800 meter race at New England’s to get a good time for nationals,” Ahmad said. “Once we’ve done that, All American is the big goal.”

The track team’s next meet is Nationals on March 11 in New York City.