Despite the Indoor Track and Field Region 5C meet taking place outdoors, Freedom still had plenty of mesmerizing performances. The girls team won the regional title, and the boys team took third. A top three finish in an event guaranteed a spot in the state meet for that event, and FHS had plenty of top three finishes.

The first day of the meet was hosted by Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology on Feb. 17. This day contained all field events in addition to the 4x800m relay. The girls team leaped to an impressive 31 point lead with victories from Morgan Glass in shotput and Sam Tiong in triple jump and long jump. Other state qualifying performances include Chloe Shepherd in shotput (2nd), the girls 4x800m (2nd), and Emily Kuni in long jump (3rd).

“It was kind of surreal for me because I didn’t think I would make it to regionals my first year, let alone get first place,” Glass said. “The best part about it though was that both Coach Alcorn and the team were super supportive. They helped bring out the best in me, and I am super happy to be part of such an amazing group of people.”

The boys team finished day one in third behind TJHS by 2 points. They were led with first place finishes by the 4x800m relay, and Gabe Turner in triple jump and long jump. Sam Masters also had an outstanding performance, taking 2nd in shotput.

“It felt good to win long jump and triple jump because I’ve worked hard this whole season.” Turner said. “I feel accomplished, but there is still more work to be done with states coming up. The team did well, and boys and girls swept horizontal jumps. Overall it was a great meet.”

Day two was hosted by Rock Ridge High School on Feb. 19. Freedom had numerous athletes place top three in their respective events. Ryan Borden led the boys with first place finishes in the 1600m and 1000m, adding 20 points to the 10 he’d previously scored with the 4x800m. Sam Tiong and Maddie Garber led the girls, combining for 38 points on this day alone.

With a total of 131 points, Freedom’s Girls Track and Field team defeated Stone Bridge, Thomas Jefferson S&T, Robert E. Lee, Rock Ridge, and Woodgrove for the Region 5C title.

“I think that winning the region title as a team means that we are finally making our mark as an indoor track team,” Tiong said. “This was my second season competing in indoor track, and it made me really happy to see that our hard work from the practices and workouts was starting to show.”

Freedom’s state qualifiers will compete at Boo Williams Sports Complex in Hampton, VA on Feb. 28 and Feb. 29. Expect many more spectacular performances!

Full List of Girls State Qualifiers By Placement (Top 3 Performances)

Maddie Garber: 3200m (1st), 1600m (2nd)

Maya Porter: 1600m (3rd)

Sam Tiong: 55mH (1st), LJ (1st), TJ(1st)

Emily Kuni: LJ (3rd)

Morgan Glass: SP (1st)

Chloe Shepherd: SP (2nd)

4x200m (1st): Sam Tiong, Nina Hoyt, Emily Kuni, Sheridan Traish (Alt. Rahitha Gopinathan & Karen Xu)

4x400m (2nd): Nina Hoyt, Kayleigh Burke, Kalix Martin, Emily Kuni (Alt. Lauren White & Aislinn Garcia)

4x800m (2nd): Maddie Garber, Jessie Borden, Maya Porter, Kayleigh Burke (Alt. Aislinn Garcia & Julia Wood)

Full List of Boys State Qualifiers By Placement (Top 3 Performances)

Ryan Borden: 1000m (1st), 1600m (1st)

Niklas Becker: 1600m (3rd)

Daniel Gittelman: 3200m (1st)

Gabe Turner: LJ (1st), TJ (1st)

Sam Masters: SP (2nd)

4x200m (1st): James Field, Sam Veliveli, Andrew Yun, Gabe Turner (Alt. Tejarsh Singh)

4x400m (2nd): Sam Veliveli, Subodh Julapalli, Tejarsh Singh, Gabe Turner (Alt. Cole Edwards)

4x800m (1st): Niklas Becker, Subodh Julapalli, Kevin Aviles, Ryan Borden (Alt. Cole Edwards & Zach McDonough)