More than just winning races and events, this season was all about team support, leadership, pushing limits, and overall growing stronger as a team. 

As the athletes step up to their places and get ready for their race, the gun fires, the crowd goes wild, the energy is up, “Step up, take your mark, go,” and the runners are off! This season, the track team had some amazing wins and successes in a lot of different events. 

Kinnelon High School track coach Laura Chegwidden says, “Our goals for the season were to be in the mix at conference and sectionals. Along with getting as many athletes through to states and having every athlete show growth and improvement.”

The track team practices almost every day of the week. The athletes spend several hours a week dedicated to pushing themselves to get ready for their meets. Although this can be tough and a lot of hard work, it all pays off in the end. Sophomore Natalia Carvajal says, “ Practices can be rough and I don’t always want to go, but it is all worth it in the end when I see improvement on the track.” 

The girls were 5-0 and the boys were 4-0, and both ended up winning their division. Winning is a very crucial part of this team, but being number 1 isn’t what track is all about. Although track is a more individual sport, the most successful part of any team is teamwork and bonding. Leadership and encouragement are so important to add to an athletic space. Sophomore Caitlin Wagner says, “Winning is great, but I care more about building people up and coming together as a team to support one another”.

Win or lose, the team is always making progress and improving along the way. Motivation does come by winning for some people, but this team is motivated by being there for one another and always keeping a positive attitude. Chegwidden says, “We measure success beyond wins and losses by how many kids show personal improvement and growth in their events, their mindset, and maturity.”

The team did very well, and both the boys and the girls were undefeated and are looking forward to sectionals on May 16 and 17, and states on May 30 and 31. This year, the team did very well, but with every success, there are challenges along the way. There are a lot of kids on the track team, and not too many coaches. Chegwidden says, “The biggest challenge we face as a team is probably being able to split five coaches between 100 kids and all the different events, but we do a good job balancing it.” 

Overall, this was a great track season, and teamwork and leadership had a lot to do with those successes. Through the wins and losses, the athletes were always there to support one another. The athlete’s dedication, mixed with a strong support team, helped everyone to achieve great things through the leadership and the coaches’ powerful encouragement. There were several events and races won throughout the season, and it was all due to the hard work the athletes put in and the friendship from their teammates.