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Pride pair compete at Stanford Invite
Pitman track pic1
Rashel Pritchard tosses the discus during a meet at Turlock High earlier this season. - photo by Journal file photo

It’s spring break, a time for high school kids to relax, take a vacation, catch up with friends, and get their minds off of school work.

But it’s a bit different for athletes—taking time off might sound good, but rust never sleeps when it comes to competition. And so while their peers are enjoying a week away, high school athletes are practicing, and in some cases competing, to keep their game strong.

Rashel Pritchard and Lindsey Phillips are part of the latter category. The pair of Pitman High athletes recently joined track and field runners, jumpers, and throwers from all over California at this year’s Stanford Invitational. Though many other hopefuls looked to compete at Stanford on Friday, Pritchard and Phillips earned their spots by breaking the top 24 of their respective events.

Pritchard made her second appearance at the Stanford Invitational in the discus event and finished 19th with a throw of 106 feet, 7 inches —a considerable improvement on last year’s performance that saw her fail to mark. As for Phillips, she marked her debut appearance at the Invitational with a 10 foot pole vault that was good enough for a 15th place finish.

“She was very happy she got the mark she did. It’s a bigger competition with a different throwing ring and it was an opportunity to throw against some elite kids,” Pitman coach Thad Moren said.

“And Lindsey, I think it let her know that there are other girls out there that are ready to compete and at her level,” Moren added. “She’s at the point now where she’s going to switch poles and try to reach new heights.”

In addition to facing top level competition, the Pride pair was also given the opportunity to warm-up and compete alongside collegiate and professional track and field athletes. Pritchard and Phillips will get another peek at competition outside of the Central California Conference this weekend when they, along with teammate Kelsee Derr, travel to Los Angeles to compete in the Arcadia Invitational.

“It’s usually the biggest high school meet each year,” Moren said. “We’re going to get down there and see the top level, so they can conquer those butterflies by the time we face them again at the end of the year.”

The next CCC meet will be held on April 16 at Golden Valley High.