Decked out in lime green spikes and her signature black shin socks during an afternoon practice, junior sprinter Celine Bellegarda ran down the 100m straightaway as head coach Archie Ljepava yelled, “Lips to hips!” from the sidelines, giving her the mental image to help Bellegarda perfect her form.
A week later, Bellegarda, using her skills from practice, ran the same 100m dash at the first home meet on March 10 against Monta Vista, where she placed first with a time of 13.70 seconds; she also placed first in the 200m dash with a time of 28.04 seconds.
Track star senior Kimberly Chen, one of the stars of the varsity soccer team’s breakthrough season, placed first in the 400m dash with a time of 1:04 minutes and second in the 200m dash with a time of 28.93. Sophomore Chloe McGhee placed first in the 300m hurdles with a time of 49.27 seconds.
After taking a year off due to stress fractures, Bellegarda is leading the team as the fastest sprinter. In her freshman year, Bellegarda placed ninth in the 200 meters with a time of 26.87 seconds at the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League (SCVAL) meet.
Prior to joining the track team in freshman year, Bellegarda had a limited knowledge of shin splints, the injury that has followed her for the past three years. As a freshman, Bellegarda developed posterior shin splints in the beginning of the season and was forced to fight through the pain. Eventually, her shin splints became stress fractures, forcing her decision to take a year off.
During that year, though, track was always on her mind. She even attended a few home meets last year to cheer on her fellow athletes. As she watched, Bellegarda realized how much she missed the sport.
“I missed everything about sprinting, from the jumpy feeling as I got into the starting blocks to the excitement of passing someone in the final second as I lunged through the finish line,” Bellegarda said. “I love to sprint, and I don’t think I could have gone another year without track.”
A much healthier Bellegarda is back to running track this spring, and she is determined to be cautious in dealing with her injury.
“I know that I have to be careful with over-exerting my shins,” she said. “There is nothing more frustrating than not being able to run because a jolt of pain hits you every time you take a step.”
As the season progresses, with meets almost every week, the team hopes not only to place well in tough matchups against Wilcox and Cupertino, but also to have runners represent the school at SCVALs and CCS.
“There are so many opportunities to improve with every meet and I hope everyone on the team tries their best and runs with their heart,” Bellegarda said.
Due to printing deadlines, the Falcon was unable to cover the away meet against Cupertino on March 17.