With an 11th place finish in the state finals last year, it’s safe to say that the boys track team exceeded expectations. The boys won their district and came in second in the region—all the while, breaking two school track records and leaving a legacy that is tough to overcome.
The talent of the 2013 senior class athletes carried the boys’ team far last season. The loss of runners such as Daniel Salas and Steven Schelling will affect this season’s outcome, according to senior runner Ryan Hopkins.
“Their departure is tough. Not only did they bring state-caliber ability but also leadership and experience that contributed greatly to our success,” said Hopkins.
The girls’ track team also had a successful season. Understaffed and very young, they finished the 2013 season as second in the district, eleventh in the region, and fiftieth in the state. However, the future is very bright for the girls’ team which consists of mostly underclassmen and a lot of talent.
“Our team is fairly young, so we have a lot of potential for this year and later years,” junior long distance runner Elsa Jaworski said.
The track squad is moving up one district class this year, from 1A to 2A. This provides tougher competition but also reinvigorates the program to work harder than last year; it won’t be easy to repeat last year’s finish in a more talented district, which the team is well aware of. After all, nothing is a guarantee.
“We are a relaxed team that loves to have fun, but we know when we need to work and what we need to do to be the best,” senior runner Sam Millson said.
This upcoming season holds many questions pertaining to talent and competition. How will both teams proceed? What is the ceiling on this squad’s potential? How will the changing of districts from 1A to 2A affect their final outcomes?
According to senior and track record holder Andrew Hewitt, most of these questions already have answers.
“I think our team should be able to repeat last year’s district performance even though we have moved up in classification,” said Hewitt. “It should be a bit more difficult though with Jones, Bishop Moore and Lake Highland in our district.”
The success of last year has trickled down throughout both the high school and middle school programs; success is now expected instead of questioned.
“It takes success at every type of event to win—sprints, distance, jumps, and throws—and that’s what I think we have,” Hopkins said.
Track and Field Coach Michael Arney has taken the reigns of this rapidly growing program, one that is improving and working in order to succeed.
According to Arney, this growing program could burgeon even more than last year.
“I think that it is a near guarantee that the girls will score at least as well at the state meet this year,” Arney said. “As for the boys, there is more talent in 2A, but is more spread out. It could be a great year for them at state.”
In Arney’s opinion, this type of yearly success is typical Trinity Prep Track and Field.
“It is amazing how year after year, kids step up,” Arney said. “Sam Millson, Ryan Hopkins, Andrew Hewitt, Robert Simms, Peter Vandendreische…We have a bunch of senior leaders ready to step it up on the boys’ side.”
Arney feels confident about the girls’ leadership as well.
“The girls are young overall, but some senior leaders like Stephanie Salas, Kelly Delgado and Katie Miller are still around. We’ll be fine,” Arney said.
On the question of the state tournament, Millson and Jaworski intentionally agreed with their coach.
“We have a pretty strong team all around,” Jaworski said. “Our distance team is pretty strong and there have been good additions to the sprint group.”
Millson shared a similar mindset with Jaworski, both concerning themselves with the talent around them.
“I think we can definitely place higher at State than we did last year,” Millson said. “It will be hard because of the loss of Daniel Salas who got our team 10 points by winning the 3200 meter race, but anything is possible.”
With runners like Hewitt and Hopkins, who have exalted themselves into regional and state success, Millson is right—anything is possible.
Hewitt runs the 200 and the 400 meter and anchors the 4×400 meter. He holds the school record for the 400 meter.
Hopkins leads the region in the 1600 meter and is third in the region for the 800 meter. Leaders like these help to solidify success for the program not only locally, but statewide as well. Despite the challenges ahead, the tougher competition, the loss of a legendary class, and the young but explosive talent, the leaders of this tenacious track and field team remain steadfast in their beliefs.
“The great thing about Trinity Prep Track and Field is that we don’t rebuild, we reload,” Hewitt said. “Every year we seem to have insurmountable losses, but there’s always someone ready to step up.”
