This year was a big year for the WHS track team. Warsaw held their first home track meet in 11 years. The new track was put in the summer of ‘21. Not only were athletes and coaches excited about having the track meet at home, they also had an outstanding outcome.
“Our home track meet went really well I thought, despite the windy cold conditions,” head track coach Cody Morgan said.
“The meet was small, but Warsaw medaled in many events. It was really exciting to have a meet on our own track,” freshman two-mile runner Jaxson Deckard said.
Although the weather hasn’t been making it easy, the WHS track team is pushing through. The track meets on April 13 at Skyline and March 22 at Versailles were both canceled.
“The weather has canceled two meets and pushed us inside for practice all season, it makes training hard,” senior 300m hurdle runner Grant Chapman said.
Not only does the weather affect the athletes practice time, it also affects their performance during the actual meet.
“The weather has played a part in our end times. It’s hard to run fast in cold conditions. There have also been some windy meets, which makes it hard to fight the wind while running which usually slows down our time,” Deckard said.
While the weather has taken a huge toll on the athletes, so have injuries.
“Everything was going good for a month, then I got a knee injury and I wasn’t able to run for two weeks. This set me back and now every time I run it hurts,” junior mile runner George Montez said.
“We have to deal with some injuries, quad and hamstring strains mostly and few hip flexors. Those have hindered our progression in a few of our relays that we think can make a push for State,” Morgan said.
Many improvements have been made this year, even through the challenges they have had to face.
“Our 4×4 team is doing good because we have already gotten a better time than what we got last year,” Montez said.
Athletes on the track team have many goals for the season.
“My goal is for us to continue the positive attitude and dedication throughout the rest of the season,” sophomore 300m hurdle runner Angela Konopasek said.
“I have many personal goals, whether that be beating my records from last year or staying with some people while I run that were better than me, but my main goal is breaking the 400m school record,” Montez said.
“I have broken my pr (personal record) at about every meet, so I hope to continue that,” junior shot put thrower Ellie Murrell said.