Phoebe Gauld Shines at State Qualifying Meet

The school year might soon be coming to a close, but Eastchester track & field star Phoebe Gauld isn’t showing any signs of slowing down yet.

Gauld shined at the New York State Qualifiers on this week, winning the Class B title in the Pentathlon, recording 3,118 total points to best the field and earn a confidence boost before the state championships kick off next weekend at Middletown High School. 

The sophomore standout explained that reaching the 3,000 point plateau was one of her top goals for the year, and that this week’s performance at the state qualifiers represented the months of hard work and training that it took for her to get to this point.

Coming into the spring season, I just hoped to keep improving my scores and getting personal records,” said Gauld. “One of my main goals, though, was to hit 3,000 points in the pentathlon, so I was really happy when I actually did.”

Gauld took first place in four out of the five events that make up the pentathlon, winning the 100m hurdles, 800m run, high jump, and long jump. She also placed second in the shot put,  where she was edged by .18 meters by John Jay’s Helena Schembri.

She noted that she was particularly happy with her showing in the hurdles event, where she posted a blistering time of 16.16.

“I was really focused on my hurdles, as that's an area that I have been improving in, so I was just hoping to continue to lower my time. I had also been doing a lot of technique practice to help clean up my form, which I think was key in me getting a personal best in that event,” she said. “My success in the long jump was actually quite unexpected, as I hadn't been practicing it a lot, but I think not putting pressure on the event made me a lot calmer going into it and why I was able to pull out an all time best.”

Next week, Gauld will represent Section 1 and Eastchester High School at the State Championship meet, where she said she will try to continue to improve on these already-impressive numbers against the best track and field stars from all over New York. To that end, she said, she’s just hoping to approach this next challenge with a clear mind.

“To prepare for the state meet, I'm just going to keep practicing and working at events I can get more points out of,” she said. “It is definitely a mental preparation, and I just have to remember to focus on my own progress and not worry about other competitors' scores because I can only control how I do at the end of the day.”

One thing that Gauld said will certainly be on her mind as she prepares for the upcoming competition is the way the Eastchester track community has rallied behind her all year long.

“I wouldn't have been able to achieve what I have if it wasn't for the time and care put into training by my coaches,” she said. “And of course  the support and motivation from my teammates, who always encourage me and cheer me on.”