Riley Darlington is a four-year track athlete and cheerleader who loves to stay active. Darlington decided to start running during the spring seasons of the track as she felt she needed something else to finish off her year after cheerleading in the fall. When Darlington decided to try running track in high school after she ran in middle school, she instantly fell back in love with the sport she used to enjoy. 

During Darlingtons’ freshman year, sports weren’t easy as Covid completely changed the way sports operated. With temperatures being taken before every practice, having to run in masks, and following the safety precautions that followed, the track tremendously changed. Fellow track athlete Ella Corigliano shared this same feeling as she said, “It was a completely different feeling. There was so much tension in the air. If one person got Covid, the entire team could have been shut down for two weeks which heavily loomed over the team.” 

The track team and Darlington continued to persevere through these hardships as they had a full season despite having a Covid season and Darlington started to find her stride on the track. Darlington participated in the 100m, 200m, and long jump which she found love for during her middle school years when former history teacher Peter Zablocki was the track coach. Although middle school track was taken lightly, things started to get more intense when it got to high school. 

When the intensity arose around Darlington, she rose to the bar quickly as she quickly found her stride and made great improvements from her previous middle school season. “Although the long jump wasn’t my best event anymore, I was able to improve heavily in the short distance events like the 100m and 200m through the extra practice we put in in the off-season and during the regular season.”

As Darlington continues to compete through her high school years, she is thrilled to look into the last season of her high school track career. Her mom Jenn Darlington is especially excited for track seasons as she loves to see her daughter perform in the track meets, “Watching Riley and the other runners run competitively is so much fun to watch. It’s something different from cheer which I have watched all Riley’s life but I feel like track adds even more excitement!”

Darlington is excited to compete in track this year to improve her skills and have one last send-off before college. Although the final season is always bittersweet, Darlington is looking towards the fun and excitement that the whole team has throughout their season.