Speed. Strength. Stamina. All the qualities track athletes must have to rise to the top.
Track practices have been consist of long distance endurance, stamina build-up and the mindset to advance beyond district.
Varsity’s next meet will be held Thursday in the Broncos relay. The district competition will be held April 10-11 at Montgomery.
Senior Austin Jahn said he wants to “hopefully place (somewhere between) first and fourth in relay. To get there it’s gonna take commitment and effort.”
The varsity team has had a lack of participants due to athletes involvement in a second sport.
“We have four soccer players that are on varsity and two softball players that are on varsity track,” girls head coach Stephen Meine said. “So that’s six of our 12 girls that are in a second sport that’s in season the same time as track.”
In practice, coaches are pushing athletes to build stamina and endurance by running longer distances such as 300, 400 and 500 meter runs.
“Even if we run short distance, they make us run long distance to build stamina so we dont die at the end of races,” junior Cara Jahn said.
Senior Kya Eubanks said that there hasn’t been a good meet because the weather has not been ideal to run in. The past meets have been cold and rainy, she added.
“All the track meets this year have sucked because the weather,” Eubanks said. “It’s been cold and rainy every track meet so there’s not really a best meet yet.”
Although the team ran into weather issues at invitationals, coaches motivate the athletes and are setting high standards.
“Advance our kids as far as we can into district and beyond,” boys head coach Jesse Walker said. “To get them to area and regionals is always our goal.”
Kya Eubanks, Cara Jahn, Ellie Blankenship, Hannah Foster qualified for the Texas Relays with their 4×400 meter relay. They will be competing at Mike A. Myers Stadium in University of Texas today.