Thoughts and reactions from NR girls track school record breakers

The New Richmond girls track team broke two school records during the Franklin Invitational on April 26, helping fuel them to a first place finish in the event. Their 4x100m relay team made up of Savannah DeAtley, Shelby Henry, Samantha Ringhand, and Audry Nicoloff broke the school record in the 4x100m relay with a time of 52.22. They would go on to break the record again with a time of 52.06 in the Hamilton Invitational on April 30. The second record was broken by Ringhand in the pole vault with a jump of 12’1”. Check out what the girls had to say about their record breaking performances following the Franklin Invitational. Questions for the 4x100m relay team Q: How have you girls worked together to improve as a "unit" this season? Practicing standing handoffs has become our best friend. Before every race, we do these to adapt to each other’s ways of wanting to receive the baton at our top speeds. -Audrey Nicoloff By encouraging each other and practicing our handoffs together. During practice, we would work on handoffs and our steps for the exchange zone constantly so it was perfect and consistent. -Savannah DeAtley We have worked and learned how to trust each other this season. We trust that we are going to all try our hardest and that we will get the baton onto the next runner. -Samantha Ringhand We’ve all learned to trust the process and trust each other. We’ve repeatedly worked on handoffs, especially before each race, and we encourage each other before we all go to our exchange zones. -Shelby Henry Q: How special is it to break a school record? I believe breaking a school record is a remarkable moment to remember, especially when you break it with your teammates. When my teammates and I found out that we were able to beat a school record that was set over a decade ago, it gave us the motivation and determination to break the record. Beating the record was such an incredible feeling to share with them because knowing all of the hard work my teammates and I have put into it and the energy we had after seeing the results was truly a gratifying experience. - Savannah DeAtley Q: How much work has gone into this achievement? We are athletes that show up. And I don’t just mean physically at practice I mean mentally ready to perform and support one another. We have put work day in and out on our mind and bodies to help us achieve this record. And to help us become better athletes and better people.- Samantha Ringhand Q: What role has the coaching staff played in this achievement? Our entire coaching staff, but specifically Coach Schmidt, provided us with the support and training to be able to achieve a school record that we have been dedicated to breaking since the beginning of the season! Coach Schmidt told us at every previous meet that we were going to break that record, and also reminded us to not be satisfied. His coaching the entire season has revolved around us staying fresh and continuing to improve as the season went on, and it has propelled us all to be very successful. -Group answer Q: What was it like celebrating this record with your teammates? Celebrating this record was something that we’ve been waiting for since the start of the season! To realize that we actually got the time we needed was surreal as we were all giddy, jumping up and down. -Audrey Nicoloff Celebrating the record with my teammates was an amazing feeling. After hearing Shelby yelling that we beat the record and everyone being excited and happy felt so rewarding to us. -Savannah DeAtley Celebrating this record was filled with excitement. We finally accomplished what we said that we would and we are all so proud of this accomplishment. -Samantha Ringhand Celebrating this record was so special because it was something we’ve been reaching for all season and we finally felt accomplished. We were all excited but also proud of each other. - Shelby Henry Q: What was going through your head after you found out you broke the record? When our time was finally scored, I thought about the positive energy we all had before the race even started. We carried this energy throughout the event as it started with Shelby immediately passing people around the curve, Savannah pushing it to hand the baton to me, and before I knew it I was already releasing the baton to Sam. I always watch Sam finish before I go to grab our visuals, and watching it in the moment was insane. I remember seeing the clock hit 51 seconds just as Sam was approaching the finish line. I tried not to get too excited before confirming we had gotten the time we needed, but I knew all along. - Audrey Nicoloff Questions for pole vault school record breaker Samantha Ringhand Q: How special is it to break a school record? It is pretty special to break a school record. It is a record of achievement and an award for hard work to reveal it does pay off. Breaking the school record in pole vault is also something that pushes me to become better as I previously held the record. So not only am I trying to break the school record but I am trying to increase my personal record as well. Q: What was the key to this performance? Why was this meet your best performance in this event to date? The key to this performance was trusting and believing in myself. Positive self talk and encouragement goes a long way. I was mentally preparing for this meet all week telling myself that I was going to jump well and that it was going to be a good meet before I even got there to jump. This just goes to show that your body listens to what the brain is saying and the positive outlook you have on yourself and your capabilities does truly matter. Q: What was going through your head after you found out you broke the record? I knew that if I pr’d that it would break the school record. This allowed me to become better individually but also to continue to raise the school record higher. I was very pleased to raise the record to 12’1” as clearing 12+ feet is a huge barrier and I was ecstatic to finally achieve this goal I have been working towards. Q: What was it like celebrating this achievement with your teammates? My teammates were very excited for me. They know that I have been working hard to become better and that my goal is to continue to pr and jump higher. I received many words of support and encouragement when I cleared 12’1” which made this accomplishment even more cherishable. Q: What have you done to improve to allow for an achievement like this? I have gotten physically stronger, faster, and capable of achieving this goal as well as mentally becoming better at believing in myself and my abilities.