With two new coaches this season, the coed outdoor track and field team had to adjust to a different style of leadership, especially for returners from the indoor season.
The team ended the season of regular meets with a 0-5 record for both the boys and girls teams.
“The team has improved in many ways; individually, many of the athletes were able to get a personal best at some point during the season. A lot of athletes continued to improve at each meet [and] it was very exciting to watch,” head coach Lindsay Bumbernick said.
Bumbernick, along with assistant coach Amy Brewer, joined the coaching staff out of their passion for running and urge to help students improve in the sport.
Sophomore hurdler Sarah Wagner thinks that she has improved since last year and throughout the season. Wagner competes in the 100-meter hurdles, 100-meter dash and 200-meter dash.
“We definitely work on hurdles a lot more [than last year], which makes us better runners for hurdles, and I think that because [coach] Bumbernick competed in hurdles, she has good advice on how to jump them,” Wagner said.
Even though the team has progressed since the beginning of the season, there is always room for improvement according to the coaches.
“We still need to work on the team aspect of track,” Bumbernick said. “Although track is very individual, most athletes end up improving when they know they have a team counting on them.”
In addition to regular season meets, the team has also competed in one invitational and will be competing in another one May 7 at Sherwood HS. For those who qualify, there are also upcoming county and state meets.
The team is done with regular season meets, but runners still come to practice to prepare for counties and states, as well as just to stay in shape.
Although their record did not reflect it, many of the runners improved throughout the season, and a lot of students were able to get new personal records (PR).
“Despite our record, I feel that we worked [well] as a team, encouraging other people, which allowed us to PR more often,” Wagner said.