Music pounds and the crowd roars as Caroline Alcorta, freshman and first leg of the Spartan Girls 4 by 8 relay steps onto the line.

Despite external changes to the Indoor National Meet (like the sponsor, New Balance instead of Nike, and the location, New York instead of Boston) the feel of the races have remained constant.

“Running down the final stretch with the roar of crowd gives me an adrenaline rush and it pushes me to run faster,” said sophomore Maddie Wittich.

Wittich was the final leg of the 4 by 8, which finished in the top twenty bracket. The team made their way to Nationals against all odds, hurdling over injuries and other difficult obstacles.

All the intensive training in preparation for the race was worth it when the team entered the jam-packed stadium.

“When you walk in, you can tell you’re in the presence of prestigious high school athletes,” said senior Lisa Williams. “Everyone knows what they’re doing and where they need to be.”

Nationals is the highest caliber race at the high school level. Hundreds of teams and individuals flood into the New Balance stadium bringing not only their pin numbers and racing flats, but the determination to win.

 While there were formerly two meets, one in New York and one in Boston, they were combined recently. The merge between the New York meet and the Boston meet, doubling the amount of participants, not only heightened the competitive atmosphere but also made the standards considerably higher.

“The competition level was unbelievable this year,” said track Coach Chris Pellegrini.

Wittich, Alcorta and Williams were joined by senior teammate Lauren Blackburn for the 4 by 8, which they were able to enter due to the new section “emerging elite,” which created an extra heat of competitors.

Senior runner Colin Taylor was also able to enter in the mile thanks to the new section. While the girls and Taylor performed well as their reputation preceded, it was Alcorta who stole the show in the freshmen mile.

“I did better than I thought I would,” said Alcorta.

 After hard training throughout the season, Alcorta delivered a 5:14 for the 1600 event, a personal record. Moments like this make the time put into the sport worthwhile.

As exciting as the races were inside the arena, the Spartans still found time to explore New York.

While running was their first priority, sightseeing was also something the team wanted to experience. They certainly got their fill of Manhattan.

“I was really happy to show my fiancé New York for the first time,” said Pellegrini.

They saw all aspects of the Big Apple, from the terrible traffic (they unfortunately witnessed a car accident) to flashy Fifth Avenue. One highlight was the massive four-story Forever21 they spent time shopping in.

The meet was not a school competition soon to be forgotten. The trip will always be a fond memory for the team, one that allowed them to bond on and off the track.

“It was a great experience to see a meet of that quality in high school,” said Pellegrini.