On December 03, the Goucher track team competed in its first meet of the indoor season. The Gophers competed at the Armory, one of the most iconic venues in track. Despite the high level of competition, the team started their season on a strong note, breaking several school records.
One athlete who got on the leaderboard at that meet is no stranger to success. Senior Tahira Bakare, or “Tee” to friends, had a strong season last spring, posting several podium finishes. In April 2022, she was named All-Goucher Second Team.
Now, it seems Bakare is picking up where she left off. On Saturday, she set the school record in the 300 meter dash with a time of 43.58 seconds, breaking the record set by Goucher Hall of Famer Jaclyn Kellon in 2010 of 44.31 seconds. She placed ninth overall. She also qualified for the finals in the 60-meter dash, finishing seventh overall with a time of 8.19 seconds.
“I didn’t really expect to break one of the records in the first meet this year,” Bakare said of her early success,“when I found out that I broke the record I was elated.”
As the team continues to train going into winter break, Bakare said that her “goal is to keep improving and dropping times just to do my best and make all my coaches and team proud.”
Other notable performances were posted by first year Tanise Thornton-Fillyaw, who set program records in both the 600 and 1000-meter runs. Junior Dorian Cheney won the high jump and broke her own record previously shared with teammate Kiri Alston-Buck, as well as setting a new indoor personal best in long jump. The Goucher Track team next competes on January 13.
