After extremely successful spring seasons for the Southern Lehigh girls’ and boys’ track & field teams last year, the team looks to continue their success this spring.
While the girls’ team has consecutively won the past seven Colonial League Championships, the boys’ team lost the league meet last season, ending their six-year streak. New captains now lead the team, and after a very successful winter season, expectations are sky-high, and the Colonial League Championship is back in their sights.
“While I personally want to drop time in all my events this season, the main goal as a team is going undefeated and winning the Colonial League meet,” senior Jack Inglis said.
Although many view running as a solo sport, track and field relies on runners, throwers, and jumpers working together to win meets. This teamwork has created a positive attitude and meaningful friendships on the team.
“My teammates mean everything to me,” junior Tyler Cramer said. “The camaraderie on the track team is really positive.”
The team shows this solidarity when they compete, with players uplifting and motivating each other throughout their meets.
“After a race, you never hear anything negative,” Cramer said. “It’s always positive encouragement coming from my teammates. It’s a very uplifting community, and it always feels good knowing I have the support of my teammates.”
While runners always appreciate encouragement from their teammates, they also want to support their teammates by performing their best.
“The team is everything; through individual events, we all contribute to the overall goal of winning a meet,” Inglis said. “Individually, I always want to do my best to not let my teammates down.”
Athletes consistently work in the off-season to improve their times and distances to continue performing their best.
“Improving myself revolves around my training,” Inglis said. “Off-season training is very important; playing other sports during the off-season helps keep me in shape, too.”
While training independently helps some athletes improve, others find more success training with their teammates.
“I try to run with my friends almost every day and strength train in the gym with them as well,” Cramer said. “We always try to emulate different things that we’ve done in practice, like how we stretch and roll out.”
After putting in a lot of hard work during the off-season, the team is eager to extend their impressive record into the spring.
“We’ve all been working so hard over this past year,” Inglis said. “With how dedicated each athlete on our team is, I’m certain we’ll accomplish a lot this season.”
