Sports
Zumwalt East Senior Closes Out Career At State
Gloria Westlake places 13th in 3,200-meter race at State.
Success breeds more success.
This was the story for Fort Zumwalt East’s Gloria Westlake in the track and field season.
Westlake, a senior, won a Gateway Athletic North Conference track and field championship in the 3,200. She continued to blaze trails in the post-season by winning a district championship in the 3,200-meter run at the District 3, Class 4 tournament at Francis Howell Central and a sectional championship at Sectional 4, Class 4 Tournament in Troy. Her sectional championship qualified her for the state track and field tournament in Jefferson City this weekend. The top four athletes in each event in each district qualify for sectionals and the top four athletes in each sectional qualify for state.
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“Being in the top eight would be great,” she said on state. “But I would be very happy with the top 10. I want to stay relaxed and stay mentally in it.”
Westlake narrowly missed out of her goal on Friday. In the first day of the State meet, the Zumwalt East senior picked up a 13th place finish with a time of 11:22.53.
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Westlake said adopting a relaxed attitude is one of the most important part of her race and something she concentrates on in the minutes leading up to the event. Not a stranger to state competition, Westlake made the cut for state her sophomore year in the 3,200. She was unable to compete in district competition last year due to sickness.
Westlake also runs the 1,600-meter run and on the 4 x 800-meter relay team for Zumwalt East.
“I love my team, they’re very motivating,” she said.
In addition to track and field, Westlake also competes in swimming and cross country at Zumwalt East. The three sports require a lot of conditioning for success.
“I’m on a club swimming team where I compete year around,” she said. “It helps me with my breathing.”
The senior will continue her athletic career next year, as she’ll compete in track and field at Southeast Missouri State University, a Division I school in Cape Girardeau.
“I’m really excited, we’re going to have a really good team,” Westlake said. “We have a really good coach (Ryan Lane).”