Never too Early to Start
The Irish Track and Field team is already starting practice, even though the regular season doesn’t start for a couple of months.
Despite most spring sports not starting for a couple months, many have already begun their preseason training. With a successful past couple of seasons, Head Coach Mr. John O’Hara is ready to start training. O’Hara said, “I’m very excited about not only the returning runners and athletes, but also we have a lot of new freshmen and other new athletes to the team and I’m very excited to see what they can do.”
As one of the larger sports, track and field has a lot of variety. From sprints, to jumps, to distance, it is a sport that appeals to many different athletes. O’ Hara said, “The beauty of the sport is there’s an event for everyone. Whether you can run, jump, or throw there’s something for everyone to do.”
While new athletes are still figuring out their respective events, the returning athletes have already narrowed down where they will fit. Senior Liam Eifert has spent the last season or two focusing on the 3200 meter run, Eifert said, “Now, I’m trying to come back stronger, maybe move down in distance and do more 1600 and 800 stuff. Still try to go for a nice 3200 time but focus on those two.”
Similarly Senior Grace Bragg has already outlined her goals for the season. Bragg said, “My goal is to make it to state.”
With practice on Mondays and Thursdays for preseason, those who are interested are welcome to join. O’Hara said, “We are always welcome to anybody who’s interested and we’ve had a lot of success over the last 5 to 7 years and we’d love for as many people to come out as possible.”
Maddie is an editor for the school newspaper. She is a senior who is involved in track and field, swimming, and speech and debate. She has two dogs at...