South Kingstown Senior Stella Lanz on a New Track
The warm May sun shines down on a crowd of happy spectators gathered around the track to watch a meet. The beautiful weather combined with the cheering crowd creates the perfect recipe for South Kingstown High School senior Stella Lanz’s success on the track. Down at the track, Lanz toes the starting line, anticipating the start of the race, and at the crack of the gun, Lanz takes off, accelerating down the turn with her smooth, natural form. Watching her run, spectators would have no idea that Lanz is competing in her first-ever race.
Sporting events have always been a part of the Rhode Island native’s life. Lanz said that she grew up playing basketball, soccer, riding horses and having an outdoor childhood. With an older sister and a younger brother, Lanz always had some friendly competition. However, in high school, Lanz had many other interests and talents that she pursued over sports.
“I really like playing the cello,” Lanz says. “I started playing when I was little and I have always enjoyed it.”
When first introduced to the cello at the young age of seven, Lanz quickly found a knack for playing. The talented musician racked up several notable achievements. She earned a spot in the Junior All-State Orchestra all three years, playing as the second chair for two years. And she also played as the first chair for the South Kingstown High School’s Symphony Orchestra as a junior and a senior.
With the high school’s symphony orchestra taking place after school, Lanz said, there just remained too little time in the day for her and many other members of the orchestra to participate in high school sports.
“The music department and sports have always had an interesting relationship,” Lanz said. During Lanz’s freshman to junior year, she said, orchestra rehearsal and almost every sports practice at the school took place at the same time. “I would have had to miss either orchestra rehearsal or sports practice every week to do both, and it just would not have worked out.”
Once Covid hit, however, South Kingstown High School saw a change in its schedule to accommodate the new Covid regulations. This led to getting out of school two hours early and orchestra rehearsals moving to two o’clock rather than three-thirty o’clock, opening up some space in Lanz’s busy schedule. Lanz decided to seize this opportunity to pursue her interest in track and field.
“Playing a sport in high school has always been in the back of my mind, and this was the perfect opportunity,” Lanz said.
As the last season of her senior year, Lanz wanted to try something new and have fun, so she decided to take up track and field. At first, Lanz said she had not decided what events she wanted to try. So she tried all different running distances in practice and even tried the pole vault and jumping events. Eventually, Lanz decided on the sprints. “Yeah, the sprinting events are more in my wheelhouse,” Lanz said with a laugh. “Compared to the distance events, it’s a lot fewer laps, and I like the faster pace.”
Aside from the running aspect of track and field, Lanz truly enjoys the track team. “Everyone on the team is so nice and encouraging,” Lanz said of her teammates. And her teammates feel the same way about her as well.
“It’s great having Stella as a teammate,” fellow senior teammate Alexa Clegg said. “She is always happy to be there and has such a positive attitude.”
Lanz also has seen improvement in her running times as the practices continue. Fellow teammate Sam Fish said, “[Lanz] works very hard on and off the track, and it shows.”
Regarding her goals for the season, Lanz says, “I’m hoping to keep improving and getting new personal records in my events,” which is definitely in store for her based on her hard work at the track.
Hard work is second nature for Lanz, as she has worked at a horse barn as a stable hand, a dog walker, a babysitter, and a landscape assistant. Lanz also continues her hard work in her studies. She has earned a spot in the National Honor Society throughout high school and ranks in the top fifteen percent in her graduating class.
Next year, Lanz said she will leave the country and work as a helper at Ecole d’Humanité, a boarding school in Switzerland, where she will join seven other high school graduates from around the world. In exchange for working at the school, the helpers can take up to two classes a term. After her year abroad, Lanz said she plans to attend Lawrence University, a liberal arts college in Wisconsin, where she plans to major in psychology, sociology, or anthropology and minor in gender studies. The well-rounded student also hopes to pursue her interest in music and join an ensemble at college.
“I hope that playing in the high school orchestra is not my last time playing in an ensemble,” Lanz said
Lanz has had many interests, hobbies, and passions over the years, and now it happens to be track and field.
As Lanz sprinted down the final straightaway at her first track meet, she held her ground, not in first but falling right in the mix of her competition. Although she may not have won, Lanz finished the race and her senior year with a smile.
