The track team’s season started and had their first meet Thursday, March 14, indoors at Ripon College.
Although the track season just started the track teammates are very close to one another and most of them claim that is the main reason they love the sport.
“I have built a strong foundation and relationship with track, the memories I hold from it is what makes me love it. I first started freshman year at Oshkosh North. My friends had influenced me to start since I was doing cross country beforehand,” senior Aaliyah Mosman said.
At practice the team does workouts together before they drift off into practicing their own events.
“We start with a warm up and dynamic stretching. Then after that, everyone goes into a specific focus area. The throwers go with the throwing coach, the sprinters go with the sprinter coach, etc. These focus areas have athletes workout based on their events,” long distance coach Roberto Lara said. “For instance, you will not see a distance runner ever throwing a shotput. You will not see a thrower running mile-repeats on the track.”
Track practice looks a little different for everyone because everyone has their own events that they perform.
“During practice we do a variety of different stuff, I do a lot of different events, so every practice the conditioning seems a little different. I always do a 400m warm up and line exercises,” junior Kaytlyn Johnson said. “Then I normally go to either sprinting or hurdles practice in which I practice three stepping hurdles and getting better jump technique, then I go and see if the coach wants me for high jump, and after all the main work out is over, I go to pole vault to practice that.”
The track team is not required to perform outside of practice but most teammates do it anyway.
“I usually just run two-four miles outside of practice. Sometimes I will do 200 or 300 repeats,” junior Callie Kurczek said.
Everyone on the team does their own outside workouts and practices in their own ways but everyone also has their own strategies to lock in during a practice or meet.
“Listening to music and staying hydrated is how I perform my best,” senior Emma Boegh said.
Senior Deacon Vang said his best strategy during a meet is to stay aggressive and to focus in.
The coaches say there is strong senior leadership on the track team overall.
“I thought this first meet was a great first meet for our kids. The first meet is always a little nerve wracking and you haven’t done track in a while but we have great senior leadership and it was a great first meet overall,” Coach Joe Stellmacher said.
The next track meet is today at UW Oshkosh girls only meet.
