With the new track and field season fast approaching, a number of Whitehall athletes decided to get a head start by competing in indoor track this winter.

The Zephyrs competed in three meets as a team. A couple of their members also competed in a few specialty meets that focus solely on vaulting.

Their indoor season began with the Robert J. Burdette Indoor Classic on Dec. 28. It was held at Lehigh University’s Philip Rauch Fieldhouse and featured 61 teams.

Whitehall had a notable performance from sophomore Arizona Marakovits who finished sixth in the pole vault with a 9-6 mark.

Next, the team traveled to Albright College for the Shirk Invitational on Jan. 8. This meet featured 16 track and field teams with Whitehall getting some performances from a number of athletes.

In the 55 meter dash preliminaries, Niko Nomura ran a 7.56, narrowly missing the finals cut.

In the 200 meter finals, freshman Vinson Eggleston came in 12th with a 28.41 mark.

Sean Connolly finished fourth in the 800, crossing the line in 2:32.01, while Jeff Warren was third in the 1600, clocking a 6:04.94.

Christian Dieter was second in the 3800 with a 12:29.84 mark, and Nicholas Souders placed 11th in the long jump finals with a 15-01.50 leap.

For the girls, Toni Jones finished 8th in the 55 meter finals with an 8.48 mark.

Whitney Alexander was 8th in the 400 meter finals, crossing the line in 1:30.93, while Mariele Patungan was 6th in the 55 meter hurdles, finishing in 10.51.

Marakovits won the pole vault with a 9-00 mark, while the shot put saw Delaney Sullivan finish seventh, and Jones finish right behind in eighth.

Their next stop was the Lebanon Valley College where they competed in the Dutchmen High School Invitational. The Zephyrs were among 34 participants at the gathering on Jan. 11.

At this meet, the boys finished 5th in the 4x400 relay with a combined time of 4:12.40.

For the girls, Patungan was 5th in the 55 meter hurdles with a 10.46 mark. Additionally, Marakovits finished third in the pole vault with a 9-9 mark.

Their final meet featuring both teams was the Pennsylvania Track & Field Coaches Association Carnival at Rauch Fieldhouse on Feb. 15. This was the largest of all the indoor meets they competed in as over 100 teams converged on Lehigh’s campus for the Carnival.

Marakovits had the best individual performance for the Zephs, finishing 16th in the pole vault with a 9-06 mark.

Head coach Tyler Miller said that they had a bunch of athletes come out during the winter indoor season. He said it’s a good way to get them back on their feet as they prepare for the upcoming season.

“We were just moving athletes between different events to get them running again so they were ready for spring.”

He also noted that Marakovits competed in a couple of VaultWorx meets as she preps for the new season. Miller said that Marakovits jumped a new personal best over the winter, and achieving that mark was exciting for her. She set it at the LVC Dutchmen Invitational when she jumped 9-9. Miller said that she has “tons of potential.”

“[It’s] definitely going to be a fun season to see how she keeps moving the bar up,” said Miller.