Track and Field kicks off the season with victories

Liz Contreras, Staff Photographer

Irene Luna, Editor-in-Cheif
March 18, 2011

At a recent track meet on March 10, Downey High took first place in most of the races and events at the Allen Layne Stadium at 4 pm. The meet was kicked off with a 4×1 relay race, where sophomore Kristin Johnson took the lead, putting DHS in first place from the beginning. Jasmine Johnson finished the race strong, despite suffering minor back injuries.

“Track is like a mental sport,” sophomore Kristin Johnson said. “If you tell yourself you’re not going to do well, then you won’t perform as well as you want to. You can’t get distracted by anything.”

Throughout the meet, Downey took first place in many races, mostly because Calvary Chapel and Bell Gardens did not have any varsity runners to compete against Downey’s varsity runners. The Vikes claimed first place in many events, earning them first place overall.

The Irvine Invitational was invite only and resulted with Downey sending most varsity and frosh-soph to compete and bring home medals. Overall, Downey won this meet as well, and frosh-soph was runner up for first place.

The Downey Relays were held on Sat., March 5, as a fundraiser to help JV get the feel of an actual meet, so it was mostly practice for varsity. Most of JV members were running the snack shack, while experienced varsity runners got used to their new relay teams.

“Downey Relays is fun!” junior Jasmine Johnson said. “It’s a chance to show was we can do. It’s a trial run. We get to know our relay teams, and it’s great bonding time.”

The track squad has been very successful and will most likely move on to league tournaments in June, once again proving they are a one-of-a-kind team.

About the Contributor

Irene Luna, Editor-in-Cheif

Being one of the returning members of The Downey Legend, senior Irene Luna takes pride in her recently acclaimed position as Editor-in-Chief. The ambitious student’s journey all started at the beginning of her sophomore year. Having an available spot for an elective, Luna was placed in the newly created newspaper class. Even though she started as a writer, the 10^th grader worked her way up the ladder as Co-Arts & Entertainment Editor. The following year she was appointed Co-Editor-In-Chief, all the while being trained to achieve her current position. She has only the highest hopes for this year’s group of individuals.

“After the long process of picking out the different students, I have complete confidence in saying that the 2011-2012 newspaper group will achieve many goals which could not be achieved in the previous years,” Luna said.

When she’s not doing work for newspaper, you can find the Editor-in-Chief readily preparing herself for the future. Her experiences throughout high school have motivated Luna to study the field of Journalism as a probable career. Taking everything step by step, she hopes to attend the University of Nevada in Las Vegas. If that plan does not follow through, her second option would be attending a California State University.

Though schoolwork may be a big part of her life, Luna proves to be a diligent worker. Contrary to many teens, she values her family, friends, and education above all other things. As the school year brings a fresh start, this motivated individual is ready to take charge of The Downey Legend.