Avery Cruse
When most people think of Track and Field, they picture someone jogging the track and calling it a day. Spoiler Alert – it’s not that simple. There are many events that are all pretty different. Track and Field events are broken up into 3 types: Track Events, Field Events, and Combined Events. Track events consist of distance running, sprinting, hurdles, and relays. There are 2 types of distance runners: Long-distance and Middle-distance. Distance runners typically run from 1600m to 3200m. Middle-distance typically consists of the 800m. Distance runners’ time goals are much larger than sprinters. Sprinters run 100m, 200m, 400m, etc. Sprinters’ time goals are well under a minute. Hurdlers are the multitaskers of track – running full speed while jumping over evenly placed obstacles. The relays consist of teams of 4, each runner covering a certain distance (called a leg) while holding a baton. Once one runner is finished with their leg, they must pass the baton to the next runner. Field events consist of jumping and throwing events. The jumping events consist of high jump and long jump. The throwing events consist of shot put and disc.
Mrs. Ballard is this year’s Head Track Coach. Currently, our team members are working on improving their times, their relay hand-offs, and their overall form. “We also have several sprinters trying to improve their start technique.” Her expectation for the athletes is for them to improve more and more each meet.
Senior Emery Lomon is one of the 9 sprinters. She runs the 100m, 200m, 4×100 relay, and sometimes the 400m. Her biggest goal for the season is to bring home a 3rd state championship in the 4×100 relay. She believes it would be really cool to do something no one from Poteau has ever done. She is very excited for the Plainview meet [state championship], stating “The atmosphere when you walk in the stadium is like no other and I am always so excited.” She also enjoys the Heavener meet and Wilburton meet because she gets to see all of the people she’s been running with for years and it’s very bittersweet. For Emery, her favorite track memory is winning state back to back last year in the 4×100 relay and breaking the 20-year-old state record.
Junior Chloe Wiles is one of the 15 distance runners. She runs the 800m, the mile, the 2 mile, and the 4×800. Her biggest goal for the track season is to make state. Her favorite places to run are Van Buren and Heavener. “I really enjoy Van Buren because it’s a fast race with schools we don’t usually see, but I also enjoy Heavener because I know a lot of people there that I get to race and I always seem to run well there.” For Chloe, the best part about track is the adrenaline rush while being on the line. Her favorite track memory is all of the races with her best friend, Alessia Osterhout.
Track and Field isn’t just about running fast. It’s about power, endurance, coordination, and strategy. Each athlete specializes in their own event, with their own unique goals and training style. The next track meet is at Broken Bow on April 17. We wish the best of luck to our runners, jumpers, and throwers!