November 15th marked the start of the winter sports season at Padua Academy. Among the various winter sports is Padua’s winter track and field team. This year there is much buzz in the running community as Padua looks to be a contender in the DIAA state championship meet. The team is comprised of a blend of distance runners, sprinters, and various field event athletes. The team is led by senior captains: Sarah O’Connor, Kristen Holowka, Shannon Hayes, Maddie Sutton, and Anna Trolio. The winter track team practices every day after school from 3 to 5 p.m. at Baynard Stadium. The team is coached by Marnie Giunta and assisted by Sarah Opperman and Barry Swanson.
Marnie Giunta was named Coach of the Year last year. In last May, the track team captured the spring state title. All eyes are on the pandas this season as they look to repeat last year’s victory. The team began competing on December 2nd at the University of Delaware’s Holiday Classic. The season wraps up on February 9th with the annual State Championship meet which is held at the University of Delaware field house. Thus far the Pandas have enjoyed a successful season with top performances at several meets. This weekend the team competes on Friday night at Lehigh University and again on Saturday at Kutztown’s Golden Bear Invitational.