Sophia Weaver
Staff Reporter
3 January 2022
It’s called indoor track, yet everyday at 3pm they meet outside. Everyone is shaking, trying to rub their hands together to be warm. They all can see their breaths. People are coughing in corners, some are jumping up and down, and two friends are hugging, sharing warmth. They are all waiting for the coaches to start practice so they can warm up their bodies.
“It’s so cold, my tears turn into ice,” said Olivia Alvarez, a 9th grader on the team. The indoor track season has just started and it’s colder than ever. Everyone on the team is excited to start the season off, minus the weather, and the team had their first meet on the 7th of December facing off against all schools in Howard County. The boys placed 5th while the girls placed 10th.
Last year’s season for indoor track was mixed. The first meet that took place was the Howard County Polar Bear Meet in which the boys and girls both got 3rd place. The second meet ran last year was, they didn’t do as well with the girls placing 5th and the boys placing last, which was 6th place. Last year’s regions, the boys got 4th place and the girls got 6th place. 11 kids from last year made it to the State Championships, 2 of them were relays and the rest were individuals..
Coach Roderick Gray found the season great and misses some of the seniors “We lost a few good seniors last year. It will affect the team because we are very young. Senior leadership is important to any team. They know how to compete, expectations of the coach and maturity to handle adversity,” said Coach Gray
The seniors that left last year were missed by teammates. Current senior captain Luke Nelson said, “I miss having the seniors around at practice, they made it fun and competitive.” Since the team lost those seniors, there will be some gaps to fill. There are already some senior runners filling those gaps left by last year’s seniors such as Aminah Coleman, Sophia Urdinola, Darian Traver Jr, Luke Nelson and Ethan Mulcahy.
The normal track season usually lasts from November 15th, which was tryout day, to January 28th, which would be the last meet. The season can vary due to the team getting into counties, regions, or even states.
Although running may seem difficult, both coaches and runners have advice for anyone who is interested. Freshman Maya Green said, “I would just say just keep going…keep going, you’ll make it one day, just if you put in the hard work, you’ll get it.” Captain Luke Nelson said, “Stick with it and put in the effort. You will only get out what you put in and always make sure to have fun.” And lastly, Coach Gray said, “I would tell new runners to take their time developing into a good runner. Consistency is a big factor in developing into a good runner. Plus taking care to do the little things like sleep, nutrition, recovery, and learning about your race/sport of track and field.”
After holiday break, the indoor track team will continue their season, hoping to compete in regions and states later in the winter.
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