Across the country, all sports in the spring of 2020 were put on a hold, and eventually cancelled. This hit many athletic teams hard, shortening the seasons of plenty of the up and coming athletes who were looking to compete for a state championship, such as now senior Justin Perez. Perez and his 4x800m relay team were on track to make a deep run into the state tournament, when the COVID-19 pandemic hit. 

 “I was really disappointed about losing out on a season of track. It also bothered me that we lost a lot of time together as a team and as friends,” Perez said.

The team has been practicing for a few weeks now, preparing for the long season ahead. Scheduled to begin the season now on April 6th, the team has already endured cancellations. Two meets so far have been cancelled, including one against Bishop Noll. Perez has said the team is staying optimistic though, knowing that their time is coming. He is hoping to not have a repeat of last year. 

Perez and his team are looking to come back stronger than ever before. His main two events that he runs are the Open 800m and the 4x800m relay. When asked about his goals for this spring, he stated, “My main goal for this season is to get our 4x800m team to Regionals, and even farther after that.” This ambitious team is made up of Senior Justin Perez, Senior Jonathan Baxter, Junior Jake Catizone, and Freshman Joey Lapatra.

Baxter, on another note, has an impressive resume behind him, regarding his cross country career. He has been one of the best male runners at Griffith in the past few years, reaching the state finals two years out of his four. Baxter is a top runner in the Region, especially in the distance running category. Lapatra is also an up and coming runner, advancing to Semi-State with Baxter. Catizone is a regular around the Griffith track program, being a great athlete and an even better runner. This team has positive thoughts and will hopefully achieve many of the goals they have planned for this season.