On March 14th, a select few including freshmen Kei (’29), Shoma (’29), Kai (’29), sophmore Naoki (’28), junior Yuto (’27), senior Mughil (’26), and track and field coach Mr. Marier embarked on their first and only international track and field trip of the 2025-2026 school year to Taipei, the capital of Taiwan. Participating against competitors from schools in Bangkok, Thailand, Manila, Philippines, and Singapore as well, St. Mary’s team faced off against some of the best international schools in Asia.
Despite the immense pressure on St. Mary’s runners, they delivered quite an impressive performance throughout the two-day meet. In the 100 and 200 meter sprint, both Shoma and Kei achieved personal best times for both formats. Moving to the 800 meter format, freshman Kai and junior Yuto achieved personal best times of 2:25.15a and 2:04.48a respectively. In fact, Yuto’s amazing performance brought him into the top 10 800 meter runners in the entire invitational!
However, in the 1500 meters and 3000 meters, St. Mary’s runners Mughil and Yuto shone even more exceptionally! In the 1500 meters, Yuto and Mughil achieved another personal best, both 4:22.90a and 4:17.58a respectively. These highly competitive times got both runners in the top 10 runners for the 1500 meter format, which is immensely impressive considering the scale of the event. In the 3000 meter race, Mughil ran a time of 9:12.96a, placing the senior at the podium amongst runners from host school Taipei American.
For these athletes, competing on the international stage transformed a season of gruelling practices into an event where they could show for all their effort. If you see any of the mentioned students (and coach Mr. Marier) across the hallway, congratulate them for their achievements!
