Dadowski part of Shaler’s record-setting indoor track season

By: HSSN Staff
Thursday, January 17, 2019 | 8:00 PM

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Andrew Dadowski doesn’t spend his summer confined to the car, driving to different track events he’s competing in.

The Shaler sophomore enjoys his time off from competitive sports. Summers are for time with friends and family.

That could be why when he returned to action so he could prepare to cut some time off his 200-meter dash for indoor track season, things didn’t feel quite right.

“I wasn’t prepared,” Dadowski said. “When I came back to practice, I had a rough time. I felt like I lost endurance.”

Dadowski’s feelings weren’t reflected on the track.

In the first TSTCA Meet on Jan. 5 at Edinboro, Dadowski set the school record in the 200 with a time of 23.95 seconds, breaking a mark from 2010.

At the second meet, Cam Mbalo leapt 43 feet, 6.75 feet to set a school record in the triple jump, and Dalton Kalbaugh ran the 3,000 in 9:04.81 to break a seven-year-old Shaler record.

Nine Shaler athletes have qualified for the state championships, and several Titans are close to rewriting the record book.

Mayah Charity is 0.02 seconds away in the 60, Danielle Eshelman set another personal best in the 800 and Lydia Valentine is up to 35-1 with a new spin technique in the shot put.

“Good things are happening,” coach Shawn Ryan said. “I’ve been a runner all my adult life, (but) I probably wouldn’t be a runner if it weren’t for my peers. That’s what helping this program progress.”

Dadowski got involved with track as a seventh grader after trying baseball and basketball. While Dadowski enjoys the outdoor season, indoor has been a revelation.

Indoor track athletes are dedicated to the sport, and Dadowski loves the extra competition.

“These guys want to get better and are serious about what they do,” Dadowski said. “The fact I’m keeping up with them means a lot.”

Ryan said he wanted to see Dadowski run in the 24-second range during the first meet.

“It’s hard to hit that threshold of a time and make progress with minimal training,” Ryan said. “He’s continuing to grow and do better.”

Getting more time in will help Dadowski. Eventually, some of his leisure time may need to be sacrificed.

“If I really want to drop time, I have to commit to practice and improve on my weaknesses,” Dadowski said. “I want to work on my start. That’s my weak point.”

Josh Rizzo is a freelance writer.

Tags: Shaler