Sports Spotlight: Winter Track

Springfield is deep into its Winter sports season, and the Winter track team is no exception. Under Coach Woods, the Spartan runners are working hard to drop times and pick up speed, and their work is paying off. 

Unlike Cross Country and Spring track, Winter track comes with its own set of challenges aside from running. Because it takes place during the coldest time of year, a lot of practices are held indoors. “We have to run inside,” says freshman runner Paula Daubon, “which is a lot harder and different than running outdoors.” Junior Henry Knowles adds, “there’s a lot more improvisation than in other seasons. We have to do what we’re able to with the time allotted and the changing weather.” 

It’s not just the practices that have to be moved inside – the meets are all held indoors, as well. Because only a few schools have indoor tracks, the Winter track team has to travel far and long to meet locations – usually to college campuses like Lehigh University. “It’s inside, so it’s a smaller track,” says sophomore Ella Walsh. “It’s more laps and a tighter space, which is a lot different than what most of us are used to.” An indoor track is only 200 meters around – half as large as an outdoor track. That means there are 8 laps to a mile and a whopping 16 laps for 3200-meter runners.

However, the team is not letting these obstacles thwart them. They’ve had a great season so far, with highlights from runners like freshman Kedar Moore, who recently broke Springfield’s 200-meter record with a time of 24.2 seconds. He has qualified for the Boys Meet of Champs at Lehigh University this February. On the girl’s side, senior pole vaulter Julia McBride recently set a new indoor track personal record of 11 feet, 6 inches, which has qualified her for the Girls Meet of Champs, as well as the States Competition at Penn State. Both of these events will also be held this February. The team has also had some stellar distance runner performances, like sophomore Matt Haugh running 10:03 in the 3K. 

Along with running, the Winter track athletes enjoy spending time as a team and getting closer. Many runners comment on the bonding they experience with their teammates. “Winter track is a smaller team, but that’s made us a lot closer,” says Junior, Kalei Noonan. “It’s one community – one team” adds sophomore, Matt Haugh. Those interested in joining Winter Track, or any of the other Springfield running teams, should reach out to Coach Woods, Mr. Mazurek, or captains James Quinn, Libby Kline, or Candace Harrison.