Crack, the athletes burst from the start blocks into action as they hear the starting pistol go off. The crowd springs from the shiny metal seats in the bleachers and cheers erupt as the girls zoom past them, pushing their bodies to the limit with the finish line within sight. Finally they cross just a millisecond before the competitor.

The Tompkins Girls Track and Field consists of a total 90 members, 25 of them being on the varsity team. Head coach Amy Pitzel has been making the team train hard throughout the year, changing the format of practices and trying to take the team to the next level of competition.

“We first worked on conditioning and pure speed and as time went on we shifted focus to weights and core,” Pitzel said. “The girls have been training since August. We stayed after school during all of the fall and decided to work harder than all the teams around us.”

On Feb. 18, the JV girls had their first meet against Seven Lakes High School, Katy High School, Cinco Ranch High School and Morton Ranch High School. The team finished a solid third overall with the relay team of Zazel Ramirez, Andrea Serrano, Andretta Young, Erica Beaird finishing second in the 4X400 meter relay and setting a new school record.

“The amount of work we did over the year was tough and those who wanted to quit could have, but all of the members stayed,” Pitzel said. “All of our relay teams are in the top three in the district, and our varsity qualified all of the three teams for regionals, but we are trying to encourage more girls to work on field events.”

The girls also competed in the Spartan Relays, Saturday Feb. 20, which had 18 teams competing. Katelyn Anderson got first place by throwing 112 feet in discus, setting a new school record. Kiersten Potter and Tiana Karnopp also set a new school record in 800 meter run and 100 meter hurdles respectively. The 4X200 meter relay school record was also broken by Sarah Kirby, Tyra White, Gillian Cannon, and Elena Wolf.

“We went from finishing fifth and sixth last year to first and second this year. I am really proud of how hard we have worked as a team and we still have big goals to accomplish, we can’t stop now,” Pitzel said.