Results from GA's Second Annual Public Track Event

Germantown Academy held its first installment of this year’s All-Comers Track and Field Meet on Tuesday evening, where 203 athletes of all ages gathered in the school’s Carey Stadium in Fort Washington to run, jump, throw javelins, and more.  The meets will be held on Tuesdays through July 16.

This is the second year for this annual event, which, according to Germantown Academy Chief Operating Officer Thomas Taft, before 2012, was a more casual event.  Taft said he enjoys the events.

“You get people who are out to have fun and you get serious athletes.  It makes for a nice mix of people coming from different backgrounds and interests.”

Last year the school’s casual summertime track and field meets changed when the organizers purchased fully automatic timing equipment to time the athletes, as well as a photo-finish camera and an electronic starting gun, and widely advertised the event. 

Their new timing equipment is so precise that it allows athletes to use their time in an event as a qualifying time for extremely competitive sporting events and college applications.  According to Taft, last year one woman was hoping to use her time to qualify for the Italian Olympics.

This year there were 19 events, with many athletes participating in more than one event.  The winners of some of the events are:

• Mixed 80 meter hurdles: Anna Ebersole

• Mixed 400 meter run: Leon Williams

• Mixed high jump: Devin Bradham

• Mixed 14+ long jump: Nick Damalas

• Mixed pole vault: Ben Simonet

• Mixed javelin throw: Evan Mao

According to participating athlete Craig Strimel, the meet organizers understand the sport and how to create a positive experience for the meet athletes: “When you engage in a high tension sport like track and field, little glitches can really hamper the experience.  I was so impressed by last year's meets that this year I decided to forgo some bigger meets and attend the Germantown Academy meets instead.”

There is a small fee charged at the meets, which will be used to help make the meets better, be it purchasing better hurdles or improving lighting.  Germantown Academy’s students will benefit, as well.

Taft, a former pole vaulter and jumper himself, truly looks forward to the events: “I think the main thing for me, and this is on our flyer, is that we keep stressing the fact that this is a friendly meet series and it stresses the idea of community.”

For a complete list of the meet’s results and more information on the meets, visit: http://www.gatrack.org/Summer_All-Comers_Meets.html