On April 16, the Issaquah Track team tested their abilities against an incredibly talented Bothell squad. Unfortunately for the Eagles, Bothell came out on top with a men’s varsity score of 81 to 64 and a women’s varsity score of 89 to 57.

Although the Eagles suffered a loss, they still had first place finishers. Freshman Julian Tate, Senior Sam Griffith, Junior Ben Eskenazi, Junior Caleb Kim, Sophomore Julia David Smith, Senior Emma Jordan, Junior Natalie Martinez, Junior Izzy Grudin, and Sophomore Ally Tebbe all placed first in at least one of their events. All of theseles demonstrated tremendous athleticism in order to overcome a tough Bothell team. Senior Sam Griffith, who ran the Men’s 3200 meter and the Men’s 4X400 meter relay says, “It’s lonely at the top, and I’m number one baby!” Griffith ran the 3200 meter race in an extremely fast nine minutes and 35 seconds, beating his opponent from Bothell by less than a second. Other Issaquah track participants, unfortunately, didn’t perform at their best. Senior Elodie Hutson says, “I ran like %&#@ today! My brain just wasn’t in it.”

Just like every track meet, there were many personal records (PR) out there on Tuesday. Senior Kunal Bhargava, although he didn’t place first in any of his events, got a PR in every one of them. Bhargava says, “I’m really happy with my performance today. Getting a PR is an incredible feeling.” So, although Issaquah lost, there are many positives to take away from the meet.