The 2025 Morris Knolls Winter Track Season is underway, with the team currently being eight meets into the season. Despite the ups and downs, this season has seen some special highlights from talented runners. Notably, during a featured event at the Tony Passarelli Invite, track runner Aaryan Pethe (Junior) broke the Morris Knolls indoor track 3200 M record at 9:33.77, previously set by Luke Schagelin (Class of 2024) at 9:42.57.
Beating the record by 8.8 seconds, marked this as truly an impressive accomplishment by Pethe, signaling a promising future for him in track. The previous record holder, Luke Schagelin, was in attendance at this meet, making this moment all the more significant for Pethe. When asked about the significance of breaking the school record in light of Schagelin’s attendance at the event, Pethe said, “I was proud…it was just nice to take his record when he was there…that felt pretty accomplishing [sic].”
Furthermore, when asked what motivated him during the race, Pethe commented, “There were some fast runners in there, so I just wanted to set my mark, you know, stick with them the whole time…and that’s what I was able to do.” For Pethe, mental determination contributed just as equally to achieving this feat as did his natural and physical abilities.
The next big event for the Morris Knolls Indoor Track team is the Group 3 State Relay Championships at the Bennett Center, where Morris Knolls has seen previous success during the spring season. During the 2024 spring season, the boys’ team won its first Group 3 State sectional title accumulating 107 points, and its first Group 3 State title with 59 points. This is a high bar for the current Knolls track team to surpass, as these titles were due in large part to seniors from the Class of 2024. When looking ahead to these State events during both the winter and spring seasons, it is important to maintain a winning mindset. Other track runners can take the advice of Pethe, who when asked what preparation goes into succeeding in his races, answered, “Honestly, I was big on attending practice this year, so just that consistency that went into it, that definitely helped me get that time up.” This is great advice for aspiring athletes who want to achieve the same success Aaryan Pethe has had this season.
Coach Drew Reinhardt has a memorable quote that all of his athletes know: “Consistency is key. “