The track team had a busy May attending two separate WPIAL events May 4 and May 20. WPIALs were held at West Mifflin High School.

At the first meet, Beaver Area athletes ran in team events like relays. In the end, the boys finished with a 1-3 record, winning one event and losing three. The girls finished 0-3.

According to senior Grace Hankinson, this is not the performance that the girls wanted to see.

"We didn’t do too well," Hankinson confessed.

The team fared better at their second WPIAL meet May 20 where senior Emma Pavelek became the new WPIAL champion in the high jump event which earned her a spot at state competitions.

Senior Tyler Ziggas finished third in the high jump and also earned himself a spot at states.

Other notable finishes included senior Brody Leichliter's fifth place finish in the 400m race and junior Krystof Purtell's sixth place finish in the 800m race, although these finishes were not enough to get them into state competitions.

At state competitions May 29, Pavelek was able to achieve second place in the high jump, netting her a silver medal. Due to inclement weather, the jumping was moved indoors forcing Pavelek to scramble to find suitable shoes for a gym floor—she jumped wearing teammate junior Sara Majors shoes.

With the season closed, some senior runners reflected on how the team was doing.

"I don’t think the team is as good as it was when I was a freshman; we don’t have as much depth as we once did," lamented senior Will Lamb.

Several speculated that fewer in-person students this year due to COVID changes may be partially to blame for the track program’s diminished numbers this season.

No one knows for sure what the future of the track program will look like, but one thing is for certain: students running fast.