School may have been out for spring break, but the Pine Crest student-athlete grind never stops. Dedicated students gave up their break, so they could train and improve in their respective sports. Teams took advantage of this time off to work more than they could during school weeks due to the students’ busy schedules.

The girls’ lacrosse team held practices and team building activities over spring break. Then, they traveled to Gainesville to face Oak Hall. The team left victorious with a 19-11 victory over the Eagles. With the hard work the put in over spring break, they were also able to defeat Ransom Everglades, Spanish River, and American Heritage.

Senior Sophie Shapiro spoke about the team’s goals for the future saying, “Moving forward, we really would like to make it far into the playoffs. Our practices have been difficult lately, but we know that they are good preparation for what is ahead.”

The crew team also trained over spring break. The rowers attended grueling practices every day of the week, culminating in the Miami International Regatta that Saturday. The event was a great success for Pine Crest, as the Freshman Girls and the 2nd Varsity Boys both won their races.

Freshman Boys coach Kali Mills explained the importance of spring training in crew. “Practice over spring break is important for us because we are about to enter our championship season,” she said. “This is the last time we can train really hard before states. Spring training is also important because crew is a team sport, and rowers need to learn how to function as one boat.”

Pine Crest sent a team of runners to the Arcadia Invitational in California to run the 4x1600m relay. Not only did the team, consisting of Mahdere Yared, Emily Faulhaber, Amanda Schwartz, and Tsion Yared, shatter the school record, but they also broke the Florida state record.  (You can read more from Type One about the track team’s success this year here).

Freshman Mahdere Yared commented on her team’s success. “We were number two in the nation and got the Florida record by ten seconds,” she said. “It was a great experience. We got to visit California and faced really great competition.”

Most think of spring break as a time to relax and unwind, but students athletes have an opposite mentality. For them, break is a time to put in work and compete. Spring break training and competition have helped prepare athletes and teams, so they can succeed in their future endeavors.