This spring, both girls and boys track started the season strong despite the challenges that the beginning of the season has brought. The teams have been successful in their first few races, with the boys team coming in first and the girls team taking runner-up at the April 9 indoor conference.
According to Dominic Newman, head coach of both teams, both individuals and the team reached high levels of success during the conference.
“We had 14 individual and relay winners, and then combined 25 individual relays that received conference medals,” Newman said. “I don’t think I’ve ever had that in a conference meet before; it’s really exciting.”
Heading into the season, Newman says that initial challenges complicated the team’s ability to build momentum.
“It was a little rough over spring break; so many athletes were gone, and I couldn’t get as many to compete right away,” Newman said. “But we competed at Nelson/Daniel, and we had some great at least beginning marks for the 10, 12 athletes that competed.”
Despite early difficulties, runners’ attitudes and mentalities are having a positive impact on the team dynamic, according to Luke Marta, senior.
“Obviously, there was a slow start to everything, but I think that there’s a lot of potential in the sense that many people are taking [the team] a lot more seriously,” Marta said. “And also in terms of sportsmanship and being good teammates, we’ve always wanted people to stick around and support.”
Additionally, senior Kaymin Phillips has noticed strong potential in the team’s newcomers.
“So far, I like this season, I feel like we have a lot of fresh talent,” Phillips said. “And honestly, I feel like a lot of people are getting set up really well to qualify for state.”
However, as the season welcomed new runners, the teams felt the absence of Eric Mathews, who recently left the coaching staff. According to Newman, this shift in leadership affected both athletes and coaching staff.
“You know, it was really super hard, it’s a big change,” Newman said. “It’s a change for me because we have this really strong working relationship, and [also because of] the bond that he and I have shared over the years with the state championships, runner-ups, or just the whole [experience] of coaching.”
With Mathews’s absence, the team has brought in new members of coaching staff. These additions were a big adjustment for the team.
“I feel like there was definitely a little bit of hesitancy with getting comfortable with the new coaches,” Phillips said. “But overall, I think we’ve definitely all gotten a lot closer, and I think we’ll all get even more closer, deeper in the season.”
The teams are also adjusting to the new makeup of athletes. According to Benny Bejma, sophomore, losing strong runners and gaining new talent has affected the overall chemistry of the teams.
“The dynamic is different in good and bad ways,” Bejma said. “I feel like we lost a lot of our leaders from last year, but I think our team’s a little bit stronger than it was last year.”
Looking forward to the rest of the season, Newman has specific goals in mind for his athletes.
“Everybody should have a goal for the season, a big goal and a small goal,” Newman said. “[Whether it’s] slowly progressing, or sometimes, for some of them, a drastic jump in their goals. But just go out there and compete, not afraid of the competition, not afraid of themselves.”