Girls Indoor Track and Field closed out its season with a solid showing at districts at Episcopal High School in Alexandria.

The Atoms competed on Feb. 1 through Feb. 4 against rivals from the Patriot Conference.

Facing strong opposition, many of the girls ran personal bests, but sadly, none were able to qualify for regionals.

Junior Ellie Hohenstein qualified for regionals in the pole vault but will be unable to compete due to a disappointing back injury.

“I’m sad, but there’s always next season. My back will get better,” said Hohenstein.

Phillip Harris, the girls distance coach, believed that they did well this season but had more to offer in seasons to come.

“This is probably one of the most improved seasons we had for the girls in a long time,” Harris said.  “The relays really came along. They made a lot of improvements.”

Harris believes that what the team needs is more girls to fill the events and guarantee the team’s constant improvement.

“The girls numbers need to go up. We need more girls. The leadership of some of our seniors, like Emily Pope was vital to our success,” said Harris. “New leaders will be crucial to the success of the team next year.”

Sophomore distance runner Vitalina Fuentes believed the season was great for herself and the team as a whole.

“I was able to improve [my time] by 15 seconds which is a lot in the mile. The team did great as a whole,” said Fuentes, “The majority of us got personal bests compared to our old times. It was a big improvement since last year in winter track.”

Fuentes is looking to make some serious gains in the off season so she can come back better than ever next winter.

“To improve I have to put in more mileage and work more in the weight room to gain some muscles,” said Fuentes.

It was a strong end to the season for the Atoms. Many of the athletes plan to continue their training in the upcoming season of Outdoor Track.