Spring track season has come back around as students enter the spring sports season. The start of the season is set for March 14. At this time, many track athletes take to the track and field on any nice day to practice for spring track. Although each athlete runs for the track team, they all have different ways they prepare for the season.
Senior track athlete Riley Darlington is coming back strong for her last season. Darlington participates in cheerleading along with track and is a four-year varsity letter recipient. Darlington starts running right after her cheer season as she goes to the gym often and loves to run outside and run at intervals on the treadmill.
Darlington participates in the 100m, 200m, and long jump which require gaining a fast amount of speed in a short distance to build up as much momentum as possible. Darlington says, “I love to run and do timed intervals of sprinting and jogging. I feel like it gives me the ability to improve best at my events and helps me build up my speed.” Darlington is already seeing improvement in her 200m race and is expecting more improvement throughout the season.
Matt Kispert is another athlete who participates in soccer and both winter and spring track. Kispert has received many medals in both winter and spring track as he and three other runners went to the New Balance Invitationals where they came in first place for the Section Eight 1600 meter Sprint Medley Rising Stars. Kispert races in the 100, 200, 400, long jump, and triple jump which is where he thrives on the track.
Kispert runs for both winter and spring track which has allowed him to constantly work on his craft as he is always surrounded by his coaches during two of the three high school sporting seasons. Kispert also often goes to the track where he does timed trial workouts to practice his takeoff on the block and increases his time each session. “By going to the track on days that we don’t have practice or during the summer it has really helped me improve my times and my stamina too.”
Kyle Bjornson is a distance runner who has been running since middle school. Bjornson is a dedicated track runner who has put in the work needed to compete at the higher levels of NJ cross country and track and field. Bjornson has goals of reaching a 4:25 mile time this year and there are multiple goals he has to pursue to be able to reach this goal.
Bjornson has been a track athlete for all three high school sporting seasons since his junior year. Being a long-distance runner is not easy as athletes have to run multiple miles a day to find improvement in their overall stamina and speed. Bjornson says, “Trying to improve mile and two-mile time is tough because of the needed work. However, I see the work as one of the rewards of running long distances as it has taught me a lot of discipline and a good work ethic, two things I will take with me.”
