If you’re running from something, join this team!

The track team at ARHS needs runners. With about nine girls on the team and 20-30 boys, the team is hoping for new athletes in the coming years. While the 2023 spring season has been without any wins, they have plenty of talent for their small numbers.

The track team is well-staffed, with coaches in many different areas of the sport. The team has distance and sprinting coaches, Christopher Gould, Bob Rosen, and David Thompson, and field and throwing coaches, Sarah Hickman and Scott Garman. 

Gould handles the administrative duties, like managing the team, signing up for meets, and assigning individuals to their events. 

Rosen builds more of a relationship with the runners and designs the runner’s workouts and training schedule. Senior runner Tamar Byl-Brann who is coached by Rosen says he “connects more with the team as individuals.” 

Byl-Brann is the captain for the girls’ track team. The boys’ team has senior Diego Lopez and junior David Pinero-Jacome as their leaders. Coach Rosen made the decision for who the 2023 captains would be. 

As for the role of a captain, “We try to keep everyone motivated,” Byl-Brann said. For an individualized sport, there is not as much of a sense of community as you would find in a field or group sport. 

However, “there are like small pockets of community in like your event,” Byl-Brann said. Having no head coach adds to decentralization, junior runner Miguel Pinero-Jacome added. 

Both the girls’ and boys’ teams have yet to win a meet as a team, but individual runners have shined. Freshman Nico Lisle is ranked fourth in the state for running the 800. Byl-Brann is ranked second for the women’s 800. 

One important moment this year was a big meet, called Twilight, where many teams raced, “We had twilight,” Byl- Brann said. “It’s one of the invitationals, it’s more than just a dual meet.” 

Additionally, at a meet, Steele Relays, the high jump team won, many runners and relays placed, and “a couple of teams [from our school] got medals,” Pinero-Jacome said. 

Track is for everyone, and people find different things they love about the sport. Pinero-Jacome loves the “concrete evidence of success or improvement,” and “consistent small steps.”

Whereas Byl-Brann said she likes “the structure of just knowing that you have somewhere to go right after school and that you’re being active.” 

For the future of the track team, one hope is for a new track. “Not having a track to run on is a pretty big deal for the track team,” said Miguel Pinero-Jacome. 

In addition to being unable to host any home meets at the high school, in practice, “people avoid running in lane one, which is the lane you’re supposed to run in.” Byl-Brann said due to ditches and the risk of injury. 

“The physical manifestation of your team in shambles reflects the state of your school and your team,” Pinero-Jacome said. But both Byl-Brann and Pinero-Jacome are appreciative that steps are being taken to remedy the track. 

With a significant number of graduates from the track team in 2023, “we need people on [the team] to have a chance at being good,” Byl-Brann said, “We have talented people, we just need bodies to cross the line.”