Over the course of a track season, it’s normal for one or two school records to fall. If a team breaks five, that’s impressive.
But what about 15?
Across Chapel Hill High School’s indoor and outdoor track seasons, 15 school records have been broken.
Starting with the indoor season, the Tigers were poised for a big year with the perfect mix of new faces and returning experience.
The season kicked off with a bang at the NW Cabarrus Invitational in Winston-Salem on November 21, when both the men’s and women’s 4×200-meter relay teams broke school records.
The women’s relay team—seniors Tanda Adamou and Lyla Berman, junior Laila Jones and sophomore Nora Mullen—set a time of 1:52.24.
The boys team—seniors Josh Elien, Elias Yoder, Kavi Krupp and Gideon Jones—ran 1:33.47.
Both relay squads re-broke their records at the Eastern/Southeast Alamance meet on February 4, posting times of 1:46.84 and 1:32.39, respectively.
“We always had that as our goal,” Krupp said.
Adamou also broke an individual record at that same meet, running the 300-meter dash in 40.83. It was her third time setting the school record in the event.
“I felt really accomplished because, coming into track as a freshman, I didn’t really win any medals,” Adamou said.
Other athletes made their mark on the record book as the indoor season progressed.
Junior Aleah Weight led the charge on the women’s side, setting new records of 7.24 seconds in the 55-meter dash, 8.31 seconds in the 55-meter hurdles, 36-2 in the triple jump, and 36-2.5 in the shot put.
Berman also broke the high jump record with a mark of 5′ 2″, crediting her success to a special teammate.
“Jumping with my best teammate Paige Thomas is the biggest thing I owe my success to,” Berman said. “Without her confidence, support and enthusiasm, I never would have beaten my personal record.”
With record-breaking performances stacking up, it was no surprise that both the men’s and women’s indoor track teams captured DAC-VII conference championships.
Five indoor track athletes qualified for the state championship meet, where three more school records fell.
Senior Sully Springer and freshman Liam Nervo-Jabaut broke records with jumps of 21′ 6″ in the long jump and 6′ 2″ in the high jump, respectively.
Springer’s achievement was individual, but he saw it as part of a larger mission.
“You have to appreciate the achievement in the moment and recognize the greatness, but then use that empowerment and newfound success as a way to push our training and our winning as a team further and further,” Springer said.
Then came outdoor season—and the record-breaking continued.
Springer once again broke the long jump record, this time as the only male athlete to do so during the outdoor season.
Weight added four more records to her total with times of 12.21 seconds in the 100 meters, 25.32 in the 200 meters, 14.15 in the 100-meter hurdles and a jump of 19′ 4″ in the long jump.
New names also made headlines. Thomas broke two records of her own with a 5′ 4″ in the high jump and a time of 47.22 in the 300-meter hurdles, while freshman distance standout Lily O’Brien added her name to the list of record holders with a time of 10:42.64 in the 3,200 meters.
Despite track’s reputation for individual events, the Tigers thrived as a team. Both the men’s and women’s squads claimed DAC-VII conference titles.
For the girls, the outdoor title capped off a rare and impressive triple crown—conference wins in cross country, indoor track and outdoor track.
The seasons were clearly for the record books.
“This season showed us what we’re capable of,” junior Ezra Wedding said. “I’m proud of what we accomplished, but I’m even more excited for what’s coming next year.”
