May 17 marks three days left of school for seniors, and the three girl’s track seniors can’t wait! This year, Khelsa Connolly, Morgan Matthews and Savannah Sitler will be furthering both their education and track careers into college.

Each athlete has been a member of the varsity track team for all four years. Connolly runs middle and long distance. She tends to compete in the 800 meter run, the mile run, and the 4×800 and 4×400 relays. Connolly excels in these events, as she also runs cross country in the fall.

Sitler runs both middle distance and sprints. She competes in the 800 meter run, the 400 meter sprint, the 200 meter sprint, and is also a crucial member of their corresponding relays.

Matthews, on the other hand, competes in both a variety of running and field events. Not only does Matthews compete in the 400 meter run, the 300 meter hurdles, the 4×200 relay and the 4×400 relay, but also in the long jump, the triple jump, shotput and discus.

Connolly will be attending Hagerstown Community College (HCC) this fall and will be majoring in Nursing. While at HCC, Connolly will be running cross country in the fall, indoor track in the winter, and outdoor track in the spring. Connolly said, “It [track] has given me something to do that I really enjoyed. I met a lot of great friends through track.”

Sitler will be attending University of Maryland College Park (UMD) this fall and will be majoring in Environmental Science Policy. She will continue her athletics at UMD by running club track. Sitler said that, “Track has given me motivation and has kept me focused [in school].”

Matthews will be attending Frostburg State University and plans to major in Geology/Earth Sciences. Matthews will not only be continuing indoor and outdoor track into college, but she also plans to play field hockey in the fall. Due to complications with her meniscus, Matthews had a surgical procedure performed on her knee after the indoor track season. Unfortunately, she had to sacrifice her senior year of outdoor track in order to begin athletics in the fall at Frostburg.

She said, “It [track] has definitely taught me discipline and leadership. It allows me to know what I can endure and how far I can push myself.”

Oddly enough, Matthews favorite memory of track was during indoor track of her junior year while competing in the 55 meter hurdles. Matthews tripped over the hurdle for her first time, yet still managed to place 12th in the meet

Connolly and Sitler both found the home meet during the 2018 outdoor season a very memorable one. The athletes had to compete in the not-so-ideal snow conditions, yet managed to have a lot fun despite the major setback.

These talented ladies are going to great places and I wish all of them the best of luck. Linganore track will miss you guys!