Sinclairs represent Blair at State Championship

FEB. 22, PG SPORTSPLEX-

Halsey and Ashlyn Sinclair represented the Blair indoor track team today at the Maryland State Championship for indoor track and field. The girls placed highly in each of the three events they competed in: the 800m, 1600m and 3200m. Each girl finished 7th or better in each event, but only Halsey was able to improve upon one of her times from the Regional Championships.

Halsey ran the 1600m and 3200m, finishing 6th in both with times of 5:23 and 11:41 respectively. Although these times were not her best of the year, many Blazers believed Halsey was still competitive against the toughest competition she has faced this year. Ashlyn finished 6th in the 800m with a time of 2:24 and 7th in the 1600m at 5:31. Ashlyn also ran some of her slower times this season. Coach Carl Lewin thought that there was one key reason for the slower than usual performances today. Lewin felt that the sisters had become worn down after such a large workload this year. "These girls didn't take a break this year between cross country and indoor track," said Lewin. "That probably led them to be more taxed than usual this late in the season." Lewin also thought that, unfortunately, both girls peaked too early in the season, leading them to have slower times when it mattered most. "We really had an anti-climatic season, but overall, these girls and the entire team ran well all year."

Senior Tyaishia Jackson did not compete today even though she qualified for the meet due to a scheduling conflict. "She told me weeks in advance that she was not going to be able to compete today, even before we knew that states would be scheduled for this week," said Lewin.

Lewin thought that the team improved on the whole this year, but that there were several key issues which needed to be addressed for both the upcoming outdoor track season as well as next year's indoor track team. "What we need to do is make track a priority for these students," said Lewin. "Too many people have other commitments and are trying to balance them with the team. They say, 'Can I go to a club twice a week and run the other days' and they need to know that in the end that will seriously hurt their performance." Lewin thinks that over a few seasons he will able to change the students' view of track in order to make it more productive.

Lewin is looking forward to a successful outdoor track season and hopes to attract new athletes to the team. "The most important thing is to try and get athletes who play during other seasons to come and run. That way they get to stay in shape for the team they focus on, while we are able to gain more valuable runners."