By Gene Helfman

Mt. Vernon hosted the Northwest 1B District meet on May 11. It was cold, windy, and very wet – miserable by anyone’s standards. May 10th had been sunny. So were May 9, 8, 7, 6 and 5.

On the bus beforehand, Coach Mike Hanby told the students to not even think about the rain. His positive approach must have worked because Lopez had a great showing. Only the top five finishers go on to the Tri-District meet. Seven Lobos did so: Jana Gruenwald (1st in javelin, 2nd in 100-meter hurdles); Uma Anderson-Chopra (3rd in the two-mile run); Ashi Bartolucci (2nd in the two-mile run); Ryan Schaefer (2nd in discus, 5th in shot put); Miguel Velasco (4th in javelin, 5th in shot put); Jonathan Doherty (5th in long jump); and Galen Westervelt (2nd in the 800-meter run). It was Lopez’ best showing in many years.

Coach Hanby commented later, “This season ranks near the top in my 55 years of involvement with track and field. These student-athletes have shown a sense of dedication, hard work and competitive drive that you don’t see all the time.”

And of course, May 12 dawned sunny and calm.