Senior Spotlight: Pennridge’s Sicinski stays on pace

Melissa Sicinski’s made the most of her down time, enjoying some fishing and long walks with her puppy.

The Pennridge grad still thinks about her teammates.

“I missed and still miss my teammates every day,” she said. “You spend every day with a group of girls starting in August and spend the weekends traveling to meets and invitationals.

“They are the reason why I enjoyed going to practices. It’s sad that I didn’t get to say goodbye to everyone.”

Sicinski was a two-year letter winner in cross country and a four-year letter winner in both winter and spring track in her time with the Rams.

The standout sprinter was Second-Team All-State as part of the 4×200 relay indoors, as she anchored the 4×200 with her best race of the season at states.

“My goals coming into the spring season were to continue to push hard in the 4×100 with my team that had gone to states and had placed second in the 4×200 (indoors),” she said. “We had been training hard through the winter and we were eager to get outdoors on the track.

“My teammates and coaches had high expectations that our 4×100 team would continue to improve our times and a first place finish would be what we would have been striving for.”

KEEPING AT IT >> Sicinski’s work ethic did not diminish during the shutdown.

“I continued to train by sprinting, doing tempo runs, and jogging,” she said. “The hope was when the shutdown ended was to pick up where we had left off.”

It was unfortunate the spring season was wiped out, but

Sicinski and her teammates went out the right way.

“We went into the (Indoor) State Championship Meet seeded eighth and the times were all very close,” she said. “We knew we would have to win our heat in order to place for a medal. Also, we wanted to qualify for Nationals. We did both.

“We ran our best race that day. We won our heat and had shaved two seconds off our own time from the beginning of the season. We had come in second place and we couldn’t have been happier. I am sorry that Nationals and the spring season got canceled, but that was a great day and I am glad my high school career ended with a second-place finish at the State Championship Meet.”

SPECIAL PLACE >> It’s a sport that takes in all kinds.

“I like best that there’s something for everyone in track and field,” Sicinski said. “I’ve always enjoyed being apart of the relays the most. We all push each other harder and don’t want to let anyone down. It’s when we run our fastest.

“Individually, a win feels good, but when you can celebrate a win as a relay together, it just means more.”

The sprinter felt she was at just the right place to groom her skills.

“Competing for Pennridge is special because of my supportive team,” Sicinski said. “Coach (Bill) Smith has created a great environment here at Pennridge. I remember coming in freshman year and feeling welcomed, and I carried that with me each year new underclassmen joined us.

“The amount of teammates that go along to meets to support and cheer when they aren’t even running speaks volume. There’s always someone to meet you at the finish line. We also have a lot of fun, from passing our iconic mascot around on meet days, and always singing and ‘dancing out the nerves.’ We all like getting each other excited to race.”

MOVING ON >> Sicinski is excited to compete at the next level.

“I’ve committed to run track for Bloomsburg University and I’m really excited and looking forward to start the next chapter in my life but sad to leave Pennridge behind,” she said. “I want to thank coach Smith, coach O’Brian, coach McKenna, and my teammates for a great four years.”