The Spoke November 2020/21

Page 11

Sports

Friday, November 20, 2020

11

Bouncing back: Junior running faster than ever after injury Sophia Pan Co-Managing Editor With some of the fastest times on the cross-countryteam, junior Vicente Peña thought he would be running in the state championships at the end of his sophomore season. Then, an injury sustained a month before the championship, threw a wrench in his plans. His foot started hurting a week before the 2019 Paul Short Run on Oct. 5, but Peña ignored it. “I just kind of was stubborn about it and was like, ‘Ehh, it’s nothing,’ so it started getting worse over the week until I reached the race day, and I noticed on the first 800 meters that a very, very sharp, knife-like pain on my foot started,” Peña said. In spite of the pain in his foot, Peña completed the boys 5K with a time of 17:35.80. After the race, Peña visited an expert who noticed a fracture in the second metatarsal of his left foot. He was then sent to the Rothman Institute, where his doctor told him he wouldn’t be able to run for at least half a year. “My injury probably would have been better if I didn’t continue through, but I wanted to finish. I knew it was going to be my last race by that point because of the pain, so I at least wanted to end it with

somewhat of a good note,” Peña said. After his injury, Peña spent four to five months wearing a boot, using a scooter to move around at school and crutches at home. After he got his boot off, he used a specialized foam shoe to prevent him from putting too much weight on his toes. Although Peña could not run while his foot recovered, he worked on training his upper body and keeping his aerobic endurance up. As Peña began to start running again, he sustained a slight injury on his right foot because of over-reliance. This extended the amount of time he could not run to around eight or nine months, which took a toll on his mental health. “Running definitely distracted me from stress from school. It was a way to give myself a little break from everything, and after that was taken away from me, I felt terrible,” Peña said. Pena’s injury caused him to miss the winter and spring track seasons, putting a pause in the team’s long-term hopes of winning the distance medley relay at the state championships. While he was unable to run, Peña continued to attend practices and meets, and his teammates supported him throughout his recovery.

Sophia Pan/The SPOKE

Running with resiliency: Junior Vicente Peña nears the finish line on Halloween at his second Central League meet of the season. Peña finished second in the boys 5K with a time of 17:13.50. “He supported everyone else even though he probably had it the worst at that time,” said senior Ben Horner, Peña’s friend and boys cross-country captain. “From when I saw him at practice, he would try and look on the bright side. He’d be like, ‘Oh, I can finally run a mile today nonstop.’”

Now, with his injury healed, Peña is running faster than ever. He placed first in the boys 5K on Oct. 24 with a time of 17:08.80 and second in the boys 5K on Oct. 31 with a time of 17:13.50. “I feel like since I’m back to running — actually, at a high-

er level than I was last year — I’m super happy,” Peña said. Richard Hawkins, Peña’s coach, said he was impressed by Peña’s eagerness to train even when injured. “He is constantly improving,” Hawkins said. “He knows exactly what he wants to achieve, and he knows exactly

how to get there. He is intelligent and athletic at the same time, and he’s driven to do well, so he’s gonna keep improving.” Peña is looking to achieve a good personal record on the mile for winter and spring track, and, in the long term, he hopes to attend a Division I college for running.

“It’s a common misconception that injuries make you a worse athlete. Really, it actually makes you better. It makes you realize what you lost, and it makes you realize the patience required for it,” Peña said. “It definitely helped me get better as a runner.”

SEASON OF ’STOGA SUCCESS designed by ananya Kulkarni, co-editor-in-chief

A snapshot of pioneer victories this season...

Chanelle Ongagna/The SPOKE

Goal!: The boys’ varsity soccer team faces off against Lower Merion on Nov. 5. Lower Merion scored two goals, but the Pioneers finished out strong, scoring a goal and taking the team to victory with a final score of 3-2.

Hiba Samdani/The SPOKE

Pioneer victory: The girls’ varsity field hockey team plays a game against Upper Darby on Nov. 2. The team brought the score to 9-0 by half-time and finished out their second half by scoring an additional 4 points with a final score of 13-0.

Ananya Kulkarni/The SPOKE Aditi Dahagam/The SPOKE

Shut-out: The girls’ varsity soccer team defeats Upper Darby on Nov. 5. with a final score of 7-0. The team stood at 5-0 at half-time and finished out strong with an additional two goals before the game’s end.

Touchdown!: Boys varsity football players cheer from the sidelines as the team faces off against Lower Merion on Nov. 6. The team got off to shaky start when Lower Merion scored its only touchdown of the game, but the Pioneers made a comeback with a final score of 41-7.


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