A year ago the Rye Neck girl's track and field team had one of its most successful seasons. The team finished second in its league and was competitive throughout the season.
As Rye Neck prepares for the spring, there will be plenty of new faces on the team. The Panthers graduated a majority of their field athletes, and will have to focus more on the running events.
"We're trying to build the team back up," Rye Neck coach Julia Gillis said. "We have a lot of young talent, and we're going to try and push some of our younger runners. This year, we're more focused on individual goals as the team tries to rebuild."
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Even though the Panthers lost a number of athletes due to graduation, Rye Neck has a larger team this season. Gillis believes that the success of the program has "gotten the attention of more students, and they want to be part of a successful team."
One of those new runners is senior Candice Pitter. She is a transfer from Connecticut who potentially could make a run at qualifying for the state meet. Pitter is primarily a sprinter, and last week in her first meet against Harrison she won the 100 meters in 13.3 seconds and the 200 in 27.6. In the winter, Pitter was league champ in the 300 before injuries slowed her down.
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Junior Kylie Van Buren has shown steady improvement throughout her three years on the track, and the distance runner will continue to try and attain her goal of breaking 11 minutes in the 3,000.
During the indoor season Van Buren won the league title in the 1,500. Gillis is hopeful that Van Buren can be a factor at the state qualifying meet.
Senior Liz Pon will be looked on to provide some leadership for the younger runners, as will senior captain Caroline Kebbe.
"Hopefully my older runners will be able to take charge a bit and show the newer runners how to act and what's expected of them," Gillis said. "I'm looking at them to pave the way for our younger runners."
Not only will this season be more of a challenger for the Panthers because of their youth, but Rye Neck has also been put in a new league. The Panthers – a Class C – will be competing against Class B schools Harrison, Rye and Port Chester for the league title.
"The goal this season is just to have fun," Gillis said. "This is the biggest team we've had since I've been here. Before the team was run more like a club team, now the kids are more competitive and they want to win. Hopefully we'll be competitive and our kids will improve throughout the season."
