LCM’s track team is back on track, warming up and attending events and securing pride for the school. They’ve already won many, the girls’ and boys’ team both doing well in their events.
The track team has started up, and they’ve been attending meets—which is the type of competition that track engages in. The meets are held at varying different schools and take around six to eight hours to complete each meet.
“Track is a team sport disguised as an individual sport.” Girls track coach Becca Peveto said.
Track is about more than being just naturally fast. Students must perform numerous different types of activities while also working as a team. They’re always there for each other when it comes to both practices and meets, because teamwork is just as important to track as it is any other sport.
“There are six different field events, consisting of shot put, discus, pole vault, long jump, triple jump, and high jump,” boys track coach Kurt Zilhman said.
The track teams do various types of running events from things like distance races (3200m and 1600m), mid-distance race (800m), sprints or dashes (100m, 110m Hurdles, 200m, 300m Hurdles, and 400m), and relays consisting of 4 people (4x100m relay, 4x200m relay, and 4x400m relay). The track teams also must do a lot of training for these events and meets beforehand.
“You can’t compete fast if you practice slow,” Peveto said.
For warmups, the girls’ track team typically begins with a warmup lap around the track, stretching, and agility to loosen up the body and prevent injury. After that, they move into event specific workouts–emphasizing technique–to prepare the athletes to perform at a high level. The boys’ team does general warm-up for most dynamic movements like high knees, but kicks, A-Skips, B-Skips, Lunges, and build-up sprints.
“Our boys team continues to improve and we are seeing personal records being broken every week including a 2nd place overall finish at our most recent meet,” Zilhman said. “The girls have won every meet this year pretty handily, so I would say things are going well for them.”
Track wants to compete at a championship level while helping every athlete reach their full potential. They emphasize hard work, accountability, and competing for the TEAM. They want them to grow not only as competitors, but also as teammates and leaders… on and off the track. Ultimately, they’re chasing another District Championship and preparing athletes for postseason success. The team is off to a strong start this season. So far this season, they’ve won all 4 meets they have attended. They’ve also had several athletes set personal records already and their relay teams are continuing to improve each week. The progress and competitiveness we’re seeing early in the season is very encouraging.
“At the end of the day, track is about competing against the clock, the tape measure, and the best version of yourself,” Peveto said.
