As the starting gun sounds, the girls track team starts a season that will be defined by speed, endurance, strength and togetherness. Last year, the team had a very successful season, with multiple athletes making it to state in a variety of events, and they hope to continue these accomplishments in the current season.
“We have a good number of returning juniors, and now they’re seniors, so they will help lead us through with their experience and skill. And we have a large group of sophomores, so we hope to utilize their abilities as well,” head girls coach Joel Carrillo said.
This season, the team dynamic is different from other years for one specific reason.
“This year, we have zero senior boys out for track. It’s all senior girls. So it’s really nice for a change having just a lot of girls in leadership positions, and we’re just trying to make it as fun as possible and less like a chore,” senior and returning state qualifier Molly Besch said.
This change is new, but many find it positive and something to anticipate for the upcoming season.
“I’m looking forward to the team,” returning state qualifier senior Mylee Tichota said. “I think it’ll be interesting and fun to see how we mesh.”
Track not only includes a lot of practices and preparation during the season with the team but also individually before the season starts. Some train before the season even starts to get themselves ready.
“I want to say in December, and maybe early January, I’ve been training without anyone else there. There were no coaches, just lifting and running as much as I could, even when it was snowing out, just getting my muscles ready for the season,” Besch said.
Besch is hoping this off-season training will help her achieve big goals this season.
“I want to hit sub 25 (seconds) for my 200 this year, and sub 12 (seconds) for my 100. I started high jumping for the first time, so we’re going to try that out this year, along with long jump,” Besch said.
Another returning qualifier with big goals for the upcoming season is sophomore Audrey Dieckman.
“This year I want to run under 5:40 for my mile and run 12:30 for my two mile. Last year was my first year of track, so I didn’t really set any time goals because I had nothing to base my times off of, but this year I really want to break all of my previous PRs,” Dieckman said.
The goals the athletes form shape the purpose of the season and where they want to end up at the conclusion of it.
“Last year, I kind of went back and forth on discus and 300 hurdles, and I didn’t really know which one I wanted to do, but I think I want to be more focused on 300 this year, especially because I want to break the school record,” Tichota said.
Not only do the athletes set goals for themselves, but the coaches set targets for each athlete to have a successful season and make it back to state in multiple events.
“The goals I have for placing are in the sprints, hurdle races and distance races. When you put it that way, that is pretty much all of them. Molly takes care of short sprints, Jordyn and Emmy will take care of the mids and Audrey will clean up the long races. Mylee dominates the hurdles. A combination of all these girls gets us points with the 4×100 and the 4×400,” Carrillo said.
Carrillo plans to help the athletes accomplish these goals throughout the season by having steady practice plans.
“Most of it will come down to discipline and putting in the work at practice of course. I hope to help with these goals just by following a comprehensive workout plan and consistency,” Carrillo said.
As a result of the rigorous practice plans and other factors, track can be a very exhausting sport. Because of this, each athlete has their own ways to stay motivated through the season.
“I stay motivated mostly by trying to always be positive and do the best I can to take care of myself. Sometimes you just need to rest so you can improve faster,” Dieckman said.
Overall, the upcoming track season looks promising for the individuals and team as a whole for succeeding and just having fun.
“My main goal is for each athlete to see improvement in their marks. I want each kid to feel like they improved and to feel a sense of accomplishment,” Carrillo said.
