Track team ready to face off with the best

The ARHS indoor track and field team is spearheaded by a strong group of juniors and seniors who are ready to take a huge step forward from previous years.
Coming off a top-three finish in Western Mass last year, captains Brenden Camphor, Kyle Yanko, David Pinero-Jacome, and Logan Alfandari know they have to keep getting better every day to stay at the top. “We practice every weekday after school no matter the weather, we have to get better every day,” said Yanko.
Along with a strong group of runners comes a strong group of coaches. The longest-tenured coach is Bob Rosen who has been coaching the long distance runners for 20-plus years.
David Thompson and Sarah Hickman have been with the program for 10-plus years with Thompson coaching the sprinters and Hickman coaching the throwers. “I not only see Coach Thompson as a coach; I see him as a friend and a great leader,” said Camphor.
Year in and year out the indoor track team is known around the state for having some of the best relay teams with the 4 by 4 team standing out the most.
Coming off a strong top-10 finish in the state last year, the 4 by 4 relay team is led by 2023 Daily Hampshire Gazette runner of the year David Pinero-Jacome, his twin brother Miguel Pinero-Jacome, and two upcoming sophomores Nico Lisle and Owen Platt.
“I expect great things from our relay teams this year. We have a great mix of hungry underclassmen and veteran upperclassmen leadership that should help us place well in states and nationals,” said David Pinero-Jacome.
The ARHS throwing team has also been making major headway throughout the state. Entering his Junior year, Alfandari finished as the top sophomore in the state last year in the shot put. Not far behind him is another junior Moniha Krouch who has always performed well for his team.
“I believe our throwers have a great chance to go far in nationals. They all have a get-it-done mentality,” said Camphor.
Last but not least are the always-consistent sprinters. The sprinters are led by 4-year varsity runners Camphor and Brooklyn Court. Joining the team this year is Junior Miles Jeffries who has the ability to be a top sprinter in the state.
Rounding out the team is a strong group of lowerclassmen with standouts being Sebastian Stinson and Ololara Baptiste. “This team has a lot of potential to be amazing this year; we just need to continue to try our hardest in practice,” said Camphor.
With a long season ahead for the indoor track team, all have one common goal for the end of the season” to get an opportunity to go against the best and see how well we stack up,” said Yanko.