Greyducks Learn from First Two Meets

The Greyducks, Stuyvesant’s girls’ varsity indoor track team, competed in their first meet of the season at the Armory Track on Sunday, December 2. This meet was an opportunity to give the freshman athletes their first taste of competition. The Stuyvesant freshman 4x800-meter relay team placed fourth, and the varsity 4x800-meter relay team placed fifth. Freshmen Alicia Jas Yu and Alina Dufenyuk also gave their first go at the 600 meter run and placed 11th and 12th, respectively. Senior Jeanette Cheung also represented the team well, winning first place in the varsity 1500-meter race walk and qualifying for city championships.

Five days later, the Greyducks were back at the Armory for their second meet of the week. Freshman Zuzi Liu had a strong showing, placing fourth in the freshmen 55-meter dash (8.47), while junior Angélique Charles-Davis placed sixth in the varsity 55-meter dash (7.68). “After having a rough season last year, it was good to start this year well,” said Charles-Davis, who competed in her first finals round since freshman year. While only Liu and Davis made it to the finals, many other athletes had reason to celebrate. Senior Vivian Cribb came in 15th in the varsity 55-meter dash (8.09) while sophomore Chloe Terestchenko and junior Ester Suleymanov placed in the top 15 in the varsity 55-meter hurdles.

Despite some early success, the Greyducks are looking to recalibrate and fill their roster strategically. The team lost significant members who competed in sprint events last year. They will look to focus on improving the current sprinting program, which isn’t performing as well as the distance program. “We hope to get a good 4x200-meter relay going,” Davis said. “And [we hope to] get some of the fast underclassmen running some solid times that they’re capable of.”

These two meets have provided good experience for the underclassmen, who are looking to gradually fill in the gaps left by departed seniors. “For the first two meets, we've been trying to see people's events. Many of our freshman are looking really strong too,” said junior Liza Reizis.

The only way to improve is to commit to a consistent and rigorous practice schedule, which is what the Greyducks are maintaining as the season progresses. The girls have started to diversify their practices and conditioning as well. “We did a lot of stuff in the weight room and also focused a lot on our starts and form,” Charles-Davis said. In a sport like track and field, technique is as important as athleticism, and polished form can mean the difference between a podium finish and 10th place.

“We are more determined than ever to win Borough’s and have athletes qualify for the city championships. But the will to win means nothing if you don’t have the will to prepare,” said junior Jing Su, perfectly encapsulating the emphasis the girls place on their practice schedule. They know how important practice is in the grand scheme of things.

The Greyducks have barely scratched the surface of the season and are just beginning to tap into their potential. If the team can stay on their upward trend from the first two meets, they will improve as time goes on and add to the number of strong finishes they’ve accumulated thus far.