It is finally spring time, which means it is the start of another track season here at Mayfield Middle School! The boys track team is led by Mr. Stephens, who has been a track coach for twenty years and is excited to see his athletes improve over the season. Assisting Mr. Stephens is Mr. Race, who is just as pumped for this season.

This year, the strongest part of the boys track team is the long jump, which showcases two excellent jumpers: Michael Huss and Amir Sapp. Michael Huss expressed the difficulty when jumping, saying that “it’s hard to find your steps perfectly and getting the right technique in the air can be challenging.” Michael also expressed the highlights of jumping as well: “When you’re mid jump, you feel like you’re flying.”

Another talented portion of the boys track team is the hurdlers, which includes students Timmy Steffens and Dolan Davis. They both agreed that hurdling is not exactly easy. “At first I was nervous to jump over them, but I’m good at multitasking so hurdling became easier,” says Timmy. Dolan adds, “When I started the hurdles, they were intimidating. Over time, they became easy to jump over.” He also goes on to say that you should “never be afraid to try something new, regardless of what it is.”

The Mayfield boys relay shows lots of potential as well. William Culp, a current runner on one of the boys team, goes into detail about being a on the relay team: “It can sometimes be annoying when you can control only what you can do and you can’t control the performance of other members of the team. It can also be hard to run with the baton in your hand, but you get used to it.” Will also states that “one of the best parts of being on a relay is being anchor and crossing the finish line and the feeling when you win the race.”

The boys throwers also have plenty of talent. Take Antonio Mangelluzzi, for example. He is a shotput and discus thrower, who enjoys “how throwing is all on you, you don’t have rely on anyone else.” He prefers shotput, but he claims that you need good form in order to do well in either event.

With all the talent on the boys track team, they are truly a force to be reckoned with. However, the boys are not the only ones who have talent; the girls have plenty too.

The girls track team is run by Mrs. Bartram, who has been a track coach for nineteen years. The girls team also has two assistant coaches: Mr. Mittinger and Ms. Vinborg. Mrs. Bartram’s main goal for the team this year is to have every girl reach their own personal goals.

For the girls field events, the team has Molly Appell who is a high jumper. Molly says that “high jump can be hard, especially when you try to get your body over the bar… but eventually you get the hang of it and you begin to like it a lot.” The girls team also has Payton O’ Neal, who is a talented thrower and member of the girls basketball team. “I enjoy being with friends and winning my events,” Payton remarks, “I’m really strong, so that makes it easier for me to throw farther.”

The girls team also has a very strong distance crew, which includes Val Sague. Val enjoys running distance in track because she likes “going on long runs with friends around the city.” As for the sprinting portion of the girls team, Kenza Mahdaoui mentions that “it takes a lot of effort to run your top speed in so little time… but the rush during those seconds, it makes all the hard work worth it.”

Whether it is the girls or the boys team, both are on track to have very successful season. Make sure to cheer on both track teams at their upcoming meets and show your Mayfield pride!