RUNNERS ON YOUR MARK.
SET.
BANG.
The firing shot goes off and eight sprinters bolt off their line, propelling themselves as quickly as their legs can move them toward the finish line. Meanwhile, just few meters to the right, sand shoots out in all directions as a jumper makes their final attempt and lands deep into the dug out pit.
A little further back and a pole bends to its very limits, just inches from snapping in half, while a vaulter tries to squeeze all the energy they can out of the rod in order to shoot themselves high into the air. The jumper twists and turns over the bar, landing mere moments after they begin their launch.
All of this happens within seconds, and there is not a moment of silence as the roar of fans and teammates fill the crowded fieldhouse track.
On Friday, Feb. 23, Huntley boys track and field kicks off their competitive indoor track season with a home meet that included 14 other schools across the state. After hours of sweat, sprints, and the occasional runner throwing up, the HHS track team finished fourth among a highly competitive division.
“We knew that going into the meet we were going to be running against some good competition because the programs that come here, especially the upper level teams, are some of the best in the state,” head coach Chris Maxedon said. “We knew that it was going to be challenging for us to finish in the top four and I really give our guys a lot of credit. I feel like there was a lot of good things that happened tonight.”
Even toward the beginning of the season, numerous records were set among the team. Triple jump competitor Zach Rysavy not only beat his personal record last year and met the state qualifying distance, but also the broke the previous school record of 13.25 meters by 0.15. Thrower Ryan Wabel also broke his shot put record by 6 feet while sprinters Vinny Costa and Lex Giron also set new personal bests in their events.
“I set a personal record in both the 60 meter and 200 meter sprints today which felt great,” senior Lex Giron said. “It all gets me closer toward my goals of going to state and helping the team win more.”
As the season begins, many new runners join the team in hopes of improving themselves and contributing toward wins in meets.
“I joined track since I did it in middle school and it gave me something to do,” freshman Jackson Towne said. “I want to be able to improve my time in the 400 meter run and also to do well in pole vault by the end of the season.”
In addition to a new set of runners, former head coach James Rolando returned from his time away from the team to improve the program and provide insight from his 13 years as a head coach.
“A lot of personal stuff was going on with my family and my dad so I knew that were going to be some issues being the head coach,” Rolando said. “I’ve been coaching a bit at Dundee Crown for the last five years and I still intend to help over there. I wanted to come back to coaching here at Huntley because it’s amazing seeing some of the success that comes when we’re able to spend more time with the runners.”
Not only has he led preseason afterschool workouts for the team in the fall, but coach Rolando introduced many new workout ideas to help the team improve and remain in top shape throughout the indoor and outdoor seasons.
“I think we got off to a slow start tonight,” Rolando said. “Home meets are hard because everyone is all over the place setting up; however, I want to make sure that we are all excited yet still ready to go at the first gun during every meet of the season. I want us all to keep getting better and I hope we can do that by staying focused and pushing ourselves whenever we can.”
As the boys track team continues toward the end of indoor meets and the beginning of a more competitive outdoor season, they hope to continue their growth and success in all aspects of the sport.
“At the end of the indoor season, there’s ultimately two goals: we want to win the indoor Fox Valley Conference championship and try to qualify as many guys to go to the indoor state championships as we possibly can,” Maxedon said. “During the course of the season, our goal is not necessarily to win meets during the week. While we want to be successful, our goal is to ultimately compete and prepare in those early and mid season meets so that when we compete in the conference meet again, we win the outdoor championship. There’s a lot that goes on through the whole course of the season but there’s a lot of great things that have already happened for us and there’s going to be a lot more coming up.”
