Bang! The sound of the starting gun and off the runners go. Senior Jake Pitman is a superior Greater Latrobe boys sprinter and he takes the win. Jake has always been one for hard work and dedication, but this year in particular he has put so much work into his sport to improve himself.
From his freshman to senior year, Jake has always run the 100-meter dash, the 200-meter dash, the 4-by-100-meter relay, and the 4-by-400-meter relay. He would argue that the 4-by-400-meter relay is the hardest event in all of track and field, but also the most fun to watch.
In Jake’s individual events, he only has to focus and rely on himself, But when he runs in a relay he relies on 3 other people to get the job done.
Up until this year, Jake has not thought about breaking any records, but now with his hard work and dedication, he has those records in sight. Jake said, “In the off-season, I trained with Jose Rivera and he helped me a lot with form and correcting mistakes that I didn’t even know I was making.” Jose Rivera is a Carnegie Mellon track and field coach who is known for working with young sprinters and hurdlers. Since Jake is a sprinter, he knows that he needs to have good foot speed and good arm rotation to be successful, and now that Jake worked with Jose Rivera he has bettered his foot speed, endurance, and technique.
Jake’s girlfriend, Brylee Bodnar, a sprinter and hurdler, said, “I have seen Jake push through injuries and put in the work so he ultimately reaches his goal of going to outdoor states in May.”
Last season Jake’s personal best in the 100-meter dash was 11.52 and now he is running 10.90. That shows how much hard work and dedication he has put into reaching the goals he set for himself. For Jake this season, his senior season, he is out for blood.
Jake went to outdoor states last year with Adam Piper, Bryce Houck, and Chris Cochran, his 4-by-100-meter relay team. His goal and wish is to make it to states in all four of his events, and he is going to make it happen.
This year Jake qualified for PTFCA, indoor states, in the 60-meter dash. He said, “Even though the Indoor States was not the best experience for the three of us there, It was still cool and enjoyable to just qualify and run at Penn State.” Mia Klasnic and Emerson Skatell also qualified for indoor states alongside Jake.
Many colleges have been looking at Jake’s performance throughout the past four years. His top offers have been from Ashland University, Saint Francis University, Shippensburg University, and Mount Saint Mary’s College. Jake has a lot of pressure on him to make the right decision and he does not want to leave his high school friends and teammates that he has had since his first track meet. Jake said, “It’s going to be tough to make it without this team, and especially without Coach Murray, he has gotten me to where I am and has pushed me to be my best. It’s going to be a sad day when I have to leave.”
No matter what Jake always has someone in his corner, whether that be his very supportive parents, or his cousin Adam Piper. These people help Jake to be better and to push himself to his fullest potential. He said, “Running with my cousin Adam has always pushed me because he is a very good sprinter, and I always want to be the best I can be, and he helps me to do that.”
Jake’s final chapter here at Greater Latrobe is coming to an end and he is getting ready to make bigger and better decisions for himself. No matter what he decides to do his teammates and Coach Murray will always be in the back of his head.
