SHS’s girls’ track and field team had an impressive 2025 winter season, achieving many of their aspirations this year including setting new personal records and winning various state titles. After months of training and hard work, their efforts paid off.
The team qualified for the state championships in the Section 1 qualifying meet, with Julie Scheffler ’25 winning the 1500-meter race walk. At the meet, Adriana Pettinelli ’28, a talented freshman who had a great first year on the team, ran a personal best of 2:46 in the 1000-meter race, topping the previous national freshman record. Her time placed her as second fastest ever in the country by a freshman girl in the event, shattering the New York state record. “After I crossed the finish line, I had no idea who won, so it was kind of suspenseful as I looked up to the board, and when it said ‘Scarsdale,’ I was really relieved and happy,” she recalls.
In the full-mile race, the freshman broke an impressive time of 4:50, and she is even ranked 5th in New York for the 600-meter, having run a 1:33, despite only having attempted the distance once prior.
At the New York Section 1 State Championships, Scarsdale as a team won their first indoor 4×800 meter race. Leia Patel ’26, Zoe Dichter ’25, and Rachel Rakower ’26, with Pettinelli as the anchor, took home the State and Federation championship title.
The team’s win was no easy feat, and each individual contributed their best effort in preparation for the championships. “During the fall my knee had been injured, so I needed to do a lot of cross training,” Petinelli reflects. “I think all the training helped me because we had to push ourselves so much in practice, and it shows in a lot of our races. We can go faster than we thought, which is always amazing to see.”
With this only being her first year on the highschool track and field team, Pettinelli is hopeful of the future. “Everyone has pushed me so much, and I’ve definitely grown a lot thanks to them. It’s a very good community,” she remarked. She feels that the strong bond the team and coaches have formed makes training friendly and even fun. The girls’ track and field team has definitely had a strong finish to the season, which makes it even more exciting to see what the coming spring season will bring.
