Freshman Lola Silva took home the gold medal in the long jump with a leap of 16 feet 2.5 inches during the freshman state track championships at the Providence Career and Technical Academy on Monday night. Silva also placed eighth in the 300 meter dash with a time of 48.03 and placed 14th in the 55 meter hurdles with a time of 14. 80 in the preliminary heat. 

“I am thrilled with her performance,” said Huskies head coach Renae Cicchinelli. “Lola is a natural long jumper. Her run-up is very consistent which is key. I think she can go very far.” 

Silva placed second in long jump with a distance of 16 feet .05 inches in the medium division track class championships on Saturday. She also participated in hurdles and on the 4x400 meter relay team.

“Coming in and jumping 16 feet and getting second place was really exciting,” said Silva after her second place finish. Silva a multi-sport athlete, began her track career in the fall. 

“I tried it out. I’ve never really done anything like this before.” 

Silva didn’t perform well in her first meet of the season, but jumped a distance of 14 feet 2 inches in her second meet. It was an eye opening experience and she plans to split time between track and lacrosse in the spring. 

“I really like the sport and I like my teammates too,” said Silva. “It has helped me condition for my other sports.” 

Third place Huskies gain ground in class meet

The Huskies who are ranked third in the Dwyer division with a record of 7-2, placed ninth at the class championships with 15 points as they prepare for the divisional championships on Wednesday night. 

“We are doing really well,” said head coach Renae Cicchinelli. “We have a small team, but we score pretty high in all of the events.” 

With 17 athletes on the team, the Huskies don’t have a lot of depth. Currently, the team competes in the long jump, high jump, 55 meter dash, 300 meter dash, 600 meter dash, 1000 meter dash, 4x200 meter relay, 4x400 relay and the 4x800 relay. There are no weight throwers on the team. 

This season the team has struggled with covid, but through team bonding and their new strength program, the Huskies have persevered.  

“Most of our struggles have just been with covid hitting one group after another,” said coach Cicchinelli. “The girls would be out for the lotted time and they had to come back from it. It kind of put a damper on their performances.”

To counter covid and the long winter season, senior captain Gariella Marsili, the Huskies top sprinter, got the team to participate in team bonding to keep motivated. 

“We do lots of team singing and team cheers,” said Marsili. “We try to hang out and get to know each other. That way when we are passing that baton and running together, we are really running as a team.”

Marsili also reaches out to he teammates on meet days and after meets. 

“As captain, it’s something that I really try to do. I’ll ask how they are feeling and see if they need any advice. Things like that.” 

Marsili placed fifth in the girls 55 meter dash during the class championship meet, with a time of 7.82 seconds. She also placed fifth in the 300 meter dash with a time of 45.86 seconds. Marsili is currently ranked 13th in the state.  

“I”m really proud of the team,” Marsili said. “It’s such an honor to be their captain. They motivate me to do better. It’s really exciting getting to share with them my love for this sport. I’ve been doing it for years now. I think that the underclassmen will do really well in the spring. Next season, It will be exciting to watch them.” 

Stalwart Serbst places 12th and 16th in distance races

Junior Emma Serbst has been the team’s stalwart distance runner. She placed 12th in the 1000 meter dash with a time of 3:41.06 and placed 16th in the 600 meter dash with a time of 1:55.70. 

“Emma has been amazing,” said Marsili. “She’s absolutely killing it.”

“I have a good mindset and I do it,” said Serbst about running in the two events that are run almost back to back. “Coach Cicc is very encouraging. She tells me that it’s all in my head and that as long as I try my best. That’s the best I can do.” 

Serbst feels that she’s only in competition with herself. She has been running since middle school and has participated on the indoor track team since freshman year. Serbst had a good kick towards the end of the 1000 meter dash and moved up two places during the race. 

“My coach screamed my name and I heard my dad in the stands. It really just gave me a purpose to run.” 

Sophomore Kali Rocha placed eighth in the long jump with a length of 14 feet and also participated in the high jump. The Huskies relay teams also faired well during the meet. The 4x200 meter relay team consisting of Karsyn Medeiros, Gabriella Marsili, Hannah Rezendes and Kali Rocha placed fifth with a time of 2:01.67. The 4x800 meter relay team consisting of Scarlett Drawbridge, Claudia Green, Karsyn Medeiros and Emma Serbst placed sixth with a time of 11:40.65. The girls 4x400 meter relay team consisting of Lola Silva, Ashley Paul, Karsyn Medeiros and Claudia Green, placed seventh with a time of 5:00.67. 

New strength and conditioning program improving performances

The Huskies new assistant coach Mark Kaiser Rhynard has been working with the team on their strength training before practice to improve their stamina during their track and field events.

“I’ve wanted to get more of a strength training program going,” said Coach Cicchinelli. “Mark has done really well working with the girls before every practice on their strength. I think that it’s really going to help us as we enter the outdoor season in the spring.” 

“It’s been a new program that I’ve been thinking about for a long time,” said Coach Rhynard. “Not just for track, but for all sports. 

The girls have been voluntarily participating in a 45 minute work out that consists of functional strength training that exercises several muscle groups and joints together.

“Coach Mark has upgraded the weight room and has been helping out a lot,” Marsili said. “He has helped us learn how to do some collegiate level lifting and getting us really strong so we can really work the blocks.”

“Tuesdays are an upper body strength day. Thursdays are a lower body strength day,” said Coach Rhynard. “The other days, we filter in some different conditioning techniques to work on their stamina. We haven’t had many girls miss all season. It’s been a great model that hopefully we can use for all sports.”