The plethora of talent that Midlothian has produced in recent years on the track can be summed up as astonishing. The numerous accolades and achievements that Midlothian’s Track & Field program has garnered allows for what many call consistently one of the best track teams in the state. Midlothian’s always talented long distance, accompanied by a continuous production of young athletes, such as freshman hurdler Erin Babashak and freshman long distance star Max Etka continually allow for success year after year.

As the regular season wound down, injuries plagued the Trojan team. Junior hurdler Josh Rominger injured his groin during practice drills at the end of April, forcing him to miss a few big meets towards the end of the year. Addison Sanders, a Midlothian high jumper, also injured her leg midway through the season. Fortunately, the timetable for both injuries concluded at the start of playoff competition.

The Southern Track Classic, a meet held at one of the nicest facilities in Virginia, consists of high schoolers from various states flocking to Virginia for this event. Midlothian had six athletes participate. Gabby Runge and Madison Anderson both participated in both running and jumping events, while Lucas Via and Addison Sanders competed in the high jump. Simon Ludwig and Randy Hahn both ran in the meet as well. The level of talent at this meet is more than impressive, as the National Track & Field Athlete of the Year competed, Grant Holloway, a 6’5 freak athlete, who has garnered college interest from relatively all schools across the country as he is widely considered the most valuable prospect in the country. This shows the level of competition many Midlo athletes competed against.

The Conference track meet marked the end of the regular season and the beginning of the playoffs for Midlothian athletes. The event was held at the new Huguenot High School, which boasts a beautiful track facility that will also hold the regional meet. The Midlothian girls ran away with the team title, defeating the 2nd place team by 128.5 points. The boys won a much closer conference title by only 32.5 points. Gabby Runge won 4 conference titles in the 100, 200, 400 and high jump. Patterson Levitch won the 1600, along with Erin Babashak winning the 300 hurdles, and Eva Johnson winning the 3200. The boys also had many top performances that included conference titles for Randy Hahn in the 800 and 1600 victories for Josh Rominger in both the high and intermediate hurdles, and Lucas Via won the high jump and 400 meters. Lastly, freshman Max Etka sped his way to a conference title in the 3200. Both the girls and boys teams found victories in the 4 x 800 and 4 x 400 meter relays as well.

The 4A East Regional Track Meet brought even more excitement. The girls team came in as favorites with stars Madison Anderson and Gabby Runge leading the show. First place finishes were plentiful as Addison Sanders won the high jump, Madison Anderson won the 400, and the girls 4 x 800 relay took first as well. On the boys side, Josh Rominger took first in the 300 hurdles, and Randy Hahn took first in the 1600. With the meet being tightly contested after the 200, Midlothian Boys were down 3 points with one event left the 4 x 400 relay. However, Lafayette’s team took first place, ending Midlothian’s opportunity at a regional title on both the boys’ and girls’ sides. On a positive note, the girls finished with 97 points on their way to another regional championship.

Entering the 4A state meet in Harrisonburg, Virginia, Midlothian had yet another chance to take home a state title on the girls side. Madison Anderson and Gabby Runge led the charge gaining points in the 400, triple jump, long jump and 200. This plethora of team points put the Trojans in title contention with 3 events left. However, as clouds entered the area and lightning struck, teams had to enter a lightning delay. After a short while, the meet director called the meet, which forces there to be no official team state champion. This sparked controversy as coaches and athletes wanted to finish the meet. After a long weekend, it was agreed to resume the meet on the following Wednesday, June 8th. Josh Rominger performed well for the boys, gaining the only individual state title in the 300 m hurdles.