Following a dominant 2023 XC campaign that included a WCAC and DC State championship, Gonzaga runners have looked to continue their success into 2024. The indoor track season got off to a hot start in Virginia Beach in early December where Gonzaga’s varsity team won the meet with 65 points.
The team was led by senior Lucas Rohde, who won the 1600m and 3200m events. Following the Virginia Beach HS Opener, the track team traveled to New York over winter break for the Ocean Breeze Meet. The team continued its success at this meet where the freshman 4x400m relay set a meet record, and the sophomore 4x800m relay took home gold.
On Jan. 6, the team competed at a meet at Liberty University, winning multiple key events. Anthony Sarro ‘26 won the 1600m, John Dearie ‘24 won the 55m Hurdles and Lincoln Fisher ‘25 won the Triple Jump. Kainoa Winston ‘25, Myles McLaughlin ‘24, Calvin Timm ‘25 and Lincoln Fisher ‘25 also won the 4x200m relay. The team has continued to perform well at all of the meets they have participated in, with many different runners and field athletes placing highly in their events.
“This season has been great and a lot of that is due to the team chemistry and coaching. Everyone gets along and does a great job cheering each other on when we’re racing around the track, both during practices and during the meets. The coaching has also been great, putting everyone in a good place to compete and achieve personal bests,” said Peter Allen ‘25.
The team has been very competitive and has a lot of talent this year, and expectations are high. Gonzaga is looking to win both WCAC and DC State Championships this February. The distance runners on this year’s track team consist of some of the best in the area. This was proven when the XC team won WCAC and DC State championships. With many of the same athletes, like Anthony Sarro, Lucas Rohde and William Buckley, returning to the track, Gonzaga finds themselves in a position to win any event that is over 800m.
This track team also has the potential to dominate the sprints. Led by Kainoa Winston ‘25 and Jude McGroarty ‘24, this year’s track team has a long list of very talented sprinters. This depth gives Gonzaga a chance to do very well in any short distance event. Finally, the team can match up with any in the hurdles and jumps, led by Dearie and Fisher. The team has a lot of talent this season and can compete with any in the WCAC. Expectations are high, and it is not unreasonable to predict a WCAC championship for this year’s winter track team.
“We’re really talented. We’ve got a great team this year and as long as we keep putting in the work we can achieve anything we want. I think we have a real shot at winning a championship and I’m looking forward to finishing the season strong,” Rhode said.