Hurdling Through the Season

On your mark, get set, go! The Jefferson Academy Track and Field team is starting the season off strong, with podium finishes and new athletes ready to take the field by storm, all looking forward to an amazing season. 

“I'm really excited for this season and I'm looking forward to my personal improvement and the improvement of the team,” says junior Reese Linton. 

Linton has been on the track team for two years now, but the freshmen are just as eager to get their high school season started. 

“I am looking forward to spending time with the team and seeing how much I can improve from the start,” explains freshman Lucas Owings. 

Track and Field consists of sprints and distance, as well as multiple field events including shot put, long jump, high jump, and triple jump. The athletes at JA represent each event, and they love doing it. 

“I’ve done all sprints (100m, 200m, and 400m) and sprinting relays, as well as long jump and triple jump,” says senior Sierra Buzick. 

Despite the wide range of skills that the Jaguar athletes have, there are still some events that they would never want to attempt. 

“I would never want to try distance or anything above 200 meters,” comments junior Mckenna Adams. “I have a ton of respect for the distance runners because I know what they do is really hard and takes lots of training.” 

On the other hand, there are many athletes that think it would be fun to get out of their comfort zone and try new events.

“One event that I think would be fun to try would be hurdles because I can jump pretty high and I'm flexible from all of my dance experience,” says Linton. “I think that hurdles would be a lot of fun.”  

Whether the athletes are trying events out of their comfort zone or not, they have had multiple podium finishes since the start of their season, and an amazing coach leading them both in and out of the classroom.

“It’s always cool to be able to relate to them on different levels,” says Coach Thimsen. 

The track team has an amazing season ahead of them with much to look forward to, including some potential new records being set. 

“My goal for this season is to break another school record,” says Buzick. “I’m only an inch away from triple jump and only a second off the 400m record right now.” 

Buzick is not the only one with a school record to beat. Owings describes his goals for the season and they also include breaking a record. 

“One goal I have this season is to get the freshman record for the 100 meter dash,” says Owings. 

The track and field athletes put work into their sport, day in and day out, and it pays off when they go to compete. Linton shares a piece of advice that has gotten her to where she is. 

“You have to push through pain and work hard even when you don't want to because that's the only way you're going to get better,” says Linton. 

All the events and practices can be intimidating for some people thinking about joining the track team, however those that have joined encourage everyone to try it out. 

“I would say that joining track has been one of the best decisions of my life so far and that really there’s nothing to lose,” says Adams. “You don’t have to be good at running or jumping to join the team and we all support each other no matter what, which is something that you can’t find anywhere else.”