Valparaiso High School held the annual DAC Track & Field meet on Saturday morning at 10 a.m. Athletes from Chesterton High School, Portage High School, La Porte High School, Crown Point High School, Lake Central High School, and Valparaiso High School all competed.
The first event for the day was the boys 800-meter relay where Chesterton comfortably had the best time of 8:59:00. The best time for the girls 800-meter relay was Valparaiso with 10:36:00.
“I think they're running really well. We have a lot of young girls that are on this team, and I think most of them are hitting their personal records,” said Ashley Hall, Chesterton High School Assistant Track & Field Coach.
The athletes from every participating school offered stand-out performances. For La Porte, Lu Trice Franklin hit numerous personal records to help her team out.
“Lu Trice Franklin got a personal record in shotput. That was the biggest performance there; she got her PR by over three and a half feet in the shotput,” said Stephanie Lewis, La Porte High School Track & Field Coach.
During the girls 100 Meter Dash, Franklin finished with a time of 14:56. For runners, beating their personal records is crucial as it inspires them to push themselves harder every meet.
Saturday turned out to be one of the more beautiful days for track competitions.
“We couldn't have asked for a nicer day out here today. I think the runners are light-hearted today, and they're having some fun, so I think it just makes them focus a little bit better,” said Lewis.
On Tuesday, Lake Central, Valparaiso, and Chesterton will have a DAC showdown as Chesterton holds second place in conference.
“We’re doing really well but Tuesday is gonna be a fight, so we'll see,” said Hall.
For most runners, Saturday’s meet was their last for the season.
“I know all the girls are pleased with what they've done. Nobody's hanging their heads down, they know they left everything out on the track,” said Lewis. “It's a great meet to see what our JV can do, and they really showed us today that they're gonna challenge our varsity girls next year.”