The Ransom Everglades boys’ and girls’ track and field teams competed on Wednesday at Coral Gables High School against Key West High School, Palmer Trinity High School, Coral Gables High School, Riviera Preparatory School, and True North Classical Academy Charter. The Raiders were victorious in many competitions and worked well as a team.  

 For the boys’ team, Eli Goldman ‘22 placed first in the high jump competition and Matthew Gallagher ‘21 placed first in the javelin competition. Noah Gold ‘22 placed first in the pole vault competition. Daniel Daley ‘22 placed second for the 100-meter dash and 200-meter dash, and Justin Wong ‘21 placed second in the 800-meter run. 

 “I am satisfied with my effort to clear a high bar, and I think that I can eventually achieve my new goal [of clearing 6’2] in the next competition,” Goldman said. “Personally, I think I am ready for districts, but I need to keep training for regionals.” 

 “I am satisfied with how I compete, but there is always room to improve and new heights that can be reached,” Gold said. “We are all constantly improving. It’s a very skill–oriented sport, and we are all quite new at it, so we hope to keep getting better. Overall I think the team was hoping for better results, but nonetheless, we competed well. I would say that we aren’t quite ready yet, but we definitely will be by the time Districts roll around.” 

For the girls’ team, Brooke Scott ‘21 placed first in the 800-meter run, and Juliana Williamson ‘22 placed first in the triple jump competition. Lindsay Gould ‘21 placed second in the pole vault competition and in the shot put competition. Mia Balestra ‘21 placed second in the javelin competition.  

 “I am really happy with how I competed. I think there are always things I can improve on, though,” Scott said. “I’d like to cut down my 800 time and try not to get too tired on the last straight of my races. The team did really well overall. It’s definitely been a difficult year because of COVID, but we’ve had a lot of new personal records this year and we’ve been doing really well in meets. I think we are ready for districts. We’re trying to win districts for the 17th time this year, and hopefully, we can keep that streak going. Even if we don’t win though, I feel like we’re still going to do really well.”  

 Both Raiders track and field teams will compete next on Wednesday, April 13th, starting at 10:30 a.m., in the district meet at Tropical Park.  

 “Somehow, despite everything that has to be dealt with in this pandemic, we got through another competition,” Head Coach Mike Becker said. “We had several outstanding efforts. The seniors have been great!”