Wright twins finish indoor track career

Most senior track and field athletes are not having the final year they wanted. Nearly all the schools in Section IV did not participate in an indoor track season due to COVID-19 restrictions on facility use. Fortunately for twins Gracie and Emma Wright, Trumansburg was the exception.

Trumansburg took its indoor track team north to compete in Section V, participating in a six-week season that concluded Feb. 19. While last year ended at the New York State Championships for the Wright sisters, they were more than happy simply being able to run one final indoor track season this year.

“We didn’t expect it at all,” Gracie said. “We had been prepping for what we would do to get to the next step to be able to go to outdoor without competing at all because we knew that other sections were but we weren’t. Then, we got this random text from our coach saying that, ‘We are going to have a season, but you’re going to have to run in sneakers.’ We were like, ‘That is the best opportunity.’ We were so excited.”

It was a unique situation. The “track” at Pinnacle Sports Complex in Victor, which hosted all of the Section V meets this year, was a turf field. That did not slow the Wrights down, though. Gracie won the final 300m race of the season while Emma took care of business in the 600m, both setting personal records. They then worked together with fellow senior Glenn Parker and eighth-grader Hope Augustine to win the 4×200 relay.

Emma discussed how the success at the final meet was a culmination of hard work.

“Until the last meet really, it was hard to find a rhythm,” Emma said. “You’re running in sneakers on turf instead of a track. So, it’s hard to get into that rhythm of finding your own pace. I know I struggled, definitely. But then, at the last race, I just realized on the last lap, I still have a lot in me. I was shortening my stride so much. So, I just lengthened them and went, and I realized I had so much more than I was giving and it was hard to find that rhythm after a while. I wish we had more and more meets.”

Another challenge they overcame to set these personal records was running with a mask on. Running on turf was something they adjusted to over the course of the season, but wearing a mask was a difficult obstacle for the athletes.

“You kind of were scared,” Gracie said. “Can I pull it down? Can I not? Because it depends on who is around you, you have to really pay attention to that even more than you would. But honestly, especially with the right distance, if you’re doing 200m and below, it’s not as difficult. I think for middle distance it might be more, or especially for distance. I give anyone props for running with a mask for distance. It’s really not something you can get used to.”

Through all the uncertainty this year, the Wrights have been working as hard as ever to put a fitting cap to their track careers at Trumansburg. It’ll end with one of the sisters holding the school record in the 400m, as they both have their eyes on it with Emma currently leading.

“Ever since COVID had really hit, we were preparing ourselves,” Gracie said. “We knew we couldn’t expect to have another season. We trained a lot harder than we usually had in the past. We got in the weight room more. We had cross-trained more. I think that’s really prepared us for whatever we have in outdoor. I find that we feel a lot stronger. We look a lot stronger in all of the pictures we’ve seen of us running. We’re excited, and competing is something that we wanted to get back into. And we’re glad we had the experience to do it in indoor a little bit.”

As seniors on the team, both Gracie and Emma got to step up as leaders for the younger athletes in this difficult year.

“We had a lot of support through our family,” Gracie said. “Our mom is a fitness trainer, so she’s always helped us through that. We felt like maybe we’re at an advantage because we have a home gym — we’re able to work out. So, we thought, ‘How do we get that to other people? How do we get the soccer team involved and the cross-country team involved, the track team?’ We tried setting up some COVID-friendly practices and masks and everything. I think that helps with everyone’s mindset because this was such a hard year.”

Now, with just one outdoor season to go, Emma and Gracie looked back at what they’ll remember most from their time on the track team.

“Mine is that runner’s high from just after running, competing and having that feeling of ‘Yes, we did something good’ or just going out there and trying our best,” Emma said. “Then, the bus ride home is always fun, even talking to the coaches on the bus ride home.”

Gracie agreed with the bus ride memories.

“My favorite really was our bus rides,” Gracie said. “Honestly, that is the best part. You get to know your team more or you get to talk with your coaches more.”

Both Gracie and Emma plan on running in college at schools to be determined. For now, they’ll have the chance to complete one more successful outdoor track season later this year.