Track hurdles their way to a strong season

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Junior Kaitlyn Ko competes in a track meet.

The girls and boys track teams recently finished their 2015-2016 season. The teams have achieved goals and committed themselves for success.

“On the whole, we have seen a ton of improvement over the course of the season which was my goal for the girls,” head coach Kendra Hutchinson said. “Every single girl can say that she improved which is pretty awesome.”

The boys track team also shared the same level of optimism for the outlook of the ending of their season.

“They train pretty hard,” head track coach Timothy Podulka said. “ It’s a long season so they go through about 16-17 weeks of different kinds of conditioning,”

This year the girls team has come close to beating record times.

“Our sprint relay team (sophomore Sherri McNeal, junior Becca Rabs, junior Gabby Sowa, freshman Nya Carr, senior Kaila Day) has had a great season and regularly won or is finished in the top three,” Hutchinson said. “Nya Carr (100m) and Becca Rabs (200m, 400m) have had individual sprint success too.”

According to Hutchinson, everyone on the team had to train hard but also train smart in order to get better.

“The distance crew ran almost everyday with a variety of workouts, sprinters run short distances, and throwers went to the weight room a lot,” Hutchinson said.

The selection process from varsity and JV is similar to any sport.  The students who are most qualified are chosen to represent each team.

“Everyone trains together in the beginning of the season. Students make varsity based on top times, distances or heights in each event,” Hutchinson said. “We also take attitude and effort into consideration.”

The Bison runners came close to breaking several records this.  For example,  Rabs’s relay team was a half a second off from the school record and senior Ben McKinney is one of the top five best throwers in the State.

According to Podulka, junior Kevin Salvano proved to be one of the best two mile runners in the State.

Both boys and girls track have progressed throughout the season. According to Rabs, track is an amazing, non-cut sport.  Everyday both track teams trained and conditioned to improve their scores.

“In previous years we have gotten last in meets and invites and this year, not getting first, but we are moving up the ladder from last to middle range area,” Rabs said.