The 2010-2011 school year marks the beginning of the new girls track program at Joliet West. Physical Education teacher Mrs. Alvarez is the team’s head coach, and she has high hopes for the team’s abilities and attitudes. She is aiming to send some of the runners down to state, but her goals for the team lie at a more personal level.
Above everything, Alvarez is looking for the girls to develop their mindsets as athletes, with a heightened focus on instilling the values of having team unity and S.I.C. sportsmanship.There are several girls on the team that have already begun to stand out as runners to watch. In addition to the record-setting runners, those standout girls include freshmen Franchesca Alego and Brianna Rivera, sophomore Teonia Blackmon, junior Raven Moore, and senior Paola Rico.
Above everything, Alvarez is looking for the girls to develop their mindsets as athletes, with a heightened focus on instilling the values of having team unity and S.I.C. sportsmanship.There are several girls on the team that have already begun to stand out as runners to watch. In addition to the record-setting runners, those standout girls include freshmen Franchesca Alego and Brianna Rivera, sophomore Teonia Blackmon, junior Raven Moore, and senior Paola Rico.
During the girls’ last meet, it became clear that the team is in good shape. “Words cannot express how proud I was of their performance, attitude, and sportsmanship,” Coach Alvarez said. During that meet, field house records were set for the 55 meter hurdles, long jump, the 200, and the pole vault. The records were set by Raven Moore, Bryanna Nance, Martionna Johnson, and Hailey Salazar, respectively. Those girls, along with the rest of their teammates, proved that they are not a force to be reckoned with. As a whole, they are a group of young and already talented runners that desire to be pushed even harder, which pleases Alvarez.
While striving to be the best runners they can be, the girls will also be working towards becoming the best versions of themselves as athletes and teammates. They will do so with integrity and class, and they will move beyond being individuals to unite as a team. The ultimate goals are for them to have pride in what they do, to support each other on and off the track, and to maintain their Tiger animal instinct of never settling and never giving up.
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