A windy day ensued at the track in Moorpark College and conditions were made unfavorable for racing. While the fully automated timer was unable to be used for the races, this did not prevent the Moorpark College Track & Field team from completing their races and busting pre-season nerves.

For the distance crew, freshman Marcus Fehlman won the 1200m run by beating two of his teammates in the last stretch of the straightaway. Here he describes his strategy in dealing with the harsh windy conditions.

“My idea was to start conservatively, draft off my teammates and to have a strong kick at the end,” said Fehlman. “It was crucial for me to be able to hang on in the last stretch.”

Fehlman also mentioned how the windy conditions would help the distance crew for their future workouts.

“Running in wind is never easy, but when we push each other in the most unfavorable conditions, it makes us stronger and it makes handling these types of conditions more confidently,” Fehlman described.

Meanwhile, in the sprints, sophomores Jahbari Fraser and Will Davis noted how heated competition could be amongst themselves in the 60m dash. Both also discussed the significance of having a mock track meet in preparation for the upcoming season.

“This meet is meant for us to get prepared for the upcoming season, and even though it was only us competing amongst each other, you could still feel a sense of animosity for the opponent,” Fraser replied.

After the meet Davis spoke about how this event will prepare the team for the season ahead.

“For us to have this intrasquad meet, it benefits us as we get a good indicator to our fitness and it will prepare us for upcoming meets against other colleges,” Davis pointed out.

Sophomore Aidan Bermudez was asked about the talent pool of the Track & Field team.

“We have a lot of talent joining our program from various high schools ranging from the Ventura to Los Angeles counties, and it will help us greatly as our team will only continue to improve,” Bermudez said.

The Moorpark College Track & Field team will be in action again on Feb.17 as they travel to Mt. Sac for their next meet.