Norwin’s Indoor Track & Field team is up and running. The Knights have been practicing in cold, rain, snow, and even below-zero temperatures. They have been training for their first few upcoming meets at Edinboro University, Akron University, and Youngstown University, and if athletes qualify, Penn State University.
“This winter has been a challenge to train,” said Norwin distance coach Brian Fleckenstein. “We haven’t had a snow-covered track like this in about 10 years, but the distance athletes and all the athletes have been very committed all winter. In spite of the weather we’ve had no holdups. I really applaud the effort of the student-athletes to improvise running in parking lots on treadmills on snow-covered roads and everything else and we are going to be ready to rock ‘n’ roll for our championship meets here in February.”
The sprinters have been running, and lifting all winter to become even better than last season after the Boys and Girls both earned team runner-ups at the team WPIAL Team Track & Field Championships at Slippery Rock University. The team is led by head coach Timothy Van Horn, distance coach Brian Fleckenstein and Ray Rakvic, and throws coach Jerrod Galloway. The Knights Winter Track & Field teams practice regularly from Thanksgiving through beginning of Sprint Track in March.
Boys Track & Field
The sprint and jumpers group coached by VanHorn are short sprinters, long sprinters, jumpers, and hurdlers. The boys lost some key senior sprinters, but senior Ryan Schiller is coming off one of the boys most dominant hurdler seasons in Norwin Track and Field history. Senior’s Daniel Maddock, and Nicholas Bognar joined Indoor Track this season after a great year running the 100, and 4×100 relay at the state meet last outdoor season. Senior sprinter Eliezer Nicholas is ready to have a good indoor season as well. Jumpers seniors Ryan Schiller, Leo Thomas, Tanner Schneck, and Nicholas Bognar are carrying that load this season for indoor. Coming off a stellar Cross Country season the distance boys are ready to bring their talents back to the track. Seniors Enzo Jiancristoforo, Luke Simpson, Thomas Gaydos, and Mario Breauchy are ready to hit the oval again. Newcomers Alex Barrett, and Benjamin Mcbride are excited for this first season of indoor as well. Senior Kaden Markovich is returning for his second year of Indoor track.
The hurdle team is one of the best in the state. Led by senior Ryan Schiller, Junior Jeremiah Francis, and sophomore Tyler Beck. Senior Leo Thomas was one of the members on the 4 x Hurdle Shuffle relay at New Balance Outdoor Nationals which they won their heat.
On January 11th, the boys headed to Edinboro for their season opener, eager to get loose and shake off any off-season rust. The following weekend, the boys had a very strong showing, with the distance crew and the sprinters playing a part. Enzo Jiancristoforo ran an indoor PR of 4:35 in the 1600, followed closely by Thomas Gaydos with a 4:38.
The boys’ 4×2 relay also had a breakout performance, setting a new school record with a time of 1:32.89 marking a major achievement for the program. On the hurdles side, Ryan Schiller ran his times of 8.34 and 8.17 in the 60H making him 6th in PA, and 87th in the USA, hitting the state qualifying standard, which will be a huge confidence booster early in the season. Nicholas ran a strong 51.66 in the 400, showing he’s in top form for the upcoming meets.
The next weekend, the team traveled to Edinboro again on the 25th, where Luke Simpson shined in his season opener, running a 4:32.24 to win the mile race, solidifying his spot just where he left off at the PIAA track and field outdoor championships. With each race, the Knight boys are building momentum and preparing for the championship meets ahead in February and March.
“The Knights are doing great work this indoor season because it’s what we love. The only way to do great work is to love what you do,” Ryan Schiller said.
Girls
The Lady Knights Track Team is looking very strong going into their long-awaited winter season. The girls team had multiple relays go to the PIAA Championships in the spring, and the girls distance squad recently earned 6th at PIAA for XC in the fall, and 12th at Nike XC Regional Championship in New York state.
The short and long sprint groupshave some of the best runners in the WPIAL, such as Dusquene commit Melani Schmidt, senior Autumn Stoken, and rising runners Karina Karadus, and Myla McCabe.
Brandi Brozeski ran a great time in the 60-meter hurdles at the Akron meet, clocking in at 9.35 seconds, for a personal best. Brozeski hit the state qualifying standard for the Indoor PTFCA Championships at Penn State the first weekend of March. Brozeski was the only athlete from Norwin to secure a spot last year at the PTFCA Championship.
At Akron University, Annie Czajkowski has proven herself one of PA’s best runners, running a fast 2:22 in the 800 meters and another fast time of 5:11 for the win in the 1600 meters at Akron. Czajkowski, a 3-time state qualifier in cross country is seeded 9th in the state so far this Indoor Season in the 1600m run. Addison Farrah ran an outstanding 12:03 in the 2-mile at Akron, the sophomore has the ability to perform under pressure. Anna Rakivic wasn’t far behind with a solid 12:30 in the same event,.
In the sprints, Melani Schmidt lit up the track with an impressive 25.66 seconds in the 200-meter dash. The Norwin girls have been excelling in a range of events, from sprints to distance. The team’s strong performances at Akron, and Edinboro show how much these student-athletes have been working.
The girls’ hurdles are also very strong, led by Brandi Brozeski (Dusquene commit), and Karina Karadus. Brozeski, and Natalie Aquillio are the jumpers for the Lady Knights.
The boys and girls are preparing for the TSTCA Championships Saturday, Feb, 22, and if all goes well, the Knights hope to send some athletes to the PTFCA State Championship Sunday, March 2 at PSU.
“This indoor season has shown a lot about our team,” said sophomore sprinter Myla McCabe. “It’s only January and we are already running great times and people are getting long distances. I am excited to see what the team can do the rest of indoor and then outdoor this year.”
