By: Lola Fulham-FitzGerald and Sam White

This season, the Seven Hills track team hit the ground running. Track is a sport involving multiple different events such as relays, races, throwing, jumping, and many more. Track builds a community, because the meets are so long everyone is kind of forced to talk to each other. This helps the members of the team get to know people they might have never talked to in the first place.  

Coach Marsan says that his mindset is “You have a mind and a body and to be a complete person you have to train both.” Marsan tries to do fun stuff when he coaches such as “getting t-shirts, ice cream, and other stuff like that.” He also coaches soccer and girls’ basketball. Marsan did track in high school, his events were: “Long jump, discus, 100m, 200m, and high jump.” 

Athletes on the track team usually have a wide range of events to participate in. Bella Bean participates in the girls’ 100 meter hurdles, long jump, and shot put. “Shot put sometimes, relays sometimes, just kind of whatever else they put me in,” Bella Bean said. There’s a lot of variety and opportunities to branch out. 

Track Meets are chaotic, but organized. When events begin, there are multiple calls. “First call is, like, hey, just a heads up, we’re doing this soon,” Bella Bean explained. “Second call is, like, get over there and sign in. Third call is, like, “if you’re not over there, we’re running without you.” From a coaching standpoint, Marsan says that the most stressful thing about track meets is when “students email me 5 minutes before a meet and say they can’t come.” He also says there’s a lot of prep work and deciding what events to put people in.

There’s a lot of school spirit shown at track meets. “I bring glitter, you know, to put on our faces in the Seven Hills colors,” said Bella Bean. It is always fun to see, even though some students put it on a bit crooked.

Track star Duke Wallace does the 4×200 relay, 100m dash, and throws discus. Duke says that it’s a sport that requires determination and stamina, as running just half of the track is difficult for some students during PE.  

“I was kind of expecting there to be a bunch of people. The team was kind of smaller than I expected,” he said about his expectations. The track team is small but strong. Track isn’t a sport focused on winning games, it’s a sport focused on beating your own personal record, or PR.

The track team bonded greatly over the season and built a mini community. It’s nice to see a team bond over the season. There’s so much support within the team. “Friends help a lot actually,” Bella Bean said. “Sometimes the other kids and coaches at the track meet will cheer for you.”