With their first meet taking place on Feb. 20, the track and field team, led by head coach Barret Saunders, has high hopes for the season. After the first meet, in which the boys finished first and the girls finished second, the team assessed what they needed to improve on to achieve their goal of making it to states in multiple events.

“The [first] meet went incredibly well. This early in the season there are a lot of variables as athletes try out a variety of events to see where they can best compete and help the team. While we certainly have room to improve, there were countless performances that the team should be proud of,” said assistant coach Mr. Cramer.

This year’s team has many new faces, including four football players who hope their skills on the field will help them on the track. The team features 55 boys and girls–one of the largest ever.

“Something that is really important for me this year is [that] the 4×1 relay team make[s] it to states. We are all teammates on the football team and it would be really cool to make it to the state level in another sport together,” said team member Cole Grande.

Many of the runners believe that their hard work during practice will pay off and help them achieve their goals, both individually and as a team. The team prides itself on practicing as hard as it can for two hours every weekday other than when there is a meet. 

“We have a fairly young team, so my expectations for the team are that we improve all season long and by the end of the year we are peaking… If we keep practicing, all the other goals will take care of themselves,” said head coach Barret Saunders.

Last year, the team was sidelined due to the COVID-19 outbreak, but the team has put that behind it and believes this year is unique, [despite] losing most of their season last year.

“This year feels special because we will actually have a chance to show off our skills at states without COVID-19 canceling our season. [Last year’s cancellation] has definitely made the team closer,” said runner Trakwon Harris.

As the season has gotten into full swing, many of the runners credit the coaches for helping them improve. 

“This year we have a lot of coaches, which is really nice because we are able to work more in-depth on the events that we are focusing on. All of our coaches are very encouraging and push us hard so that we can be the best,” said runner Emeline Smith.

Teamwork and help from the many coaches are the key factors that the track team hopes to use to succeed this season.