As the winter winds down, athletes begin finding themselves immersed in the spring sports season. For Park’s track and field team, the new season brings about a new twist; a brand new track and turf. Girl’s head coach Wyatt Scheu said aside from adding some new excitement to practice, the new track can also help prevent injuries.
“People have way more fun knowing they are running on a new track,” Scheu said. “Our old track was like running on cement, that leads to a lot of shin splints, a lot of injuries down the road. Having a brand new track that’s soft and having the turf that we can run on to help prevent those injuries goes a long way.”
Senior Zeke Rischall said the track will benefit him, along with his teammates, with the potential of preventing overuse injuries.
“It will be a lot better. There will be a lot fewer shin splints from everyone,” Rischall said. “People will stop whining and my shins won’t hurt.”
According to Scheu, the track was a great use of the school’s athletic budget and a necessary upgrade to help improve an athlete’s overall experience.
“Obviously, academics always come first, but what really rounds out anyone’s experience in high school is not only academics, but the activities that they choose to do,” Scheu said. “An investment like this goes a long way and the kids are really enjoying it.
Junior Nora Lindeman said although the track will positively impact all athletes, she said sprints will reap the most benefits since they have the highest impact workouts.
“It will impact everyone in a really good way, but sprints are on it more than distance is since we go out,” Lindeman said.
Park hasn’t hosted any track meets in recent years because of complications with the old track, but with the new and improved facilities, Park may finally be able to host. According to Scheu, hosting a meet would come with many benefits.
“[Hosting] helps raise the prestige of a school. If you’re a school that is never hosting, no one knows where you’re at, and having other schools in our conference not know where we’re at doesn’t help the image we’re trying to produce,” Scheu said. “Hosting meets goes a long way towards increasing the visibility of the school, showing that it’s a great place to go to school and participate in athletics. It’s a testament to the team and community.”
According to Lindeman, the new track was worth it, despite the sacrifices she had to make during her fall cross country season.
“Even though we had to meet at the Middle School for cross country, it was worth it to have the new facility; it was past (it’s) time,” Lindeman said.
Rischall said the new facilities should have the most impact on field events, such as jumps.
“We had really bad jump pits. The runways don’t have cracks in them anymore,” Rischall said.
According to Lindeman, the new layout of the field events helps add to the inclusivity of practice.
“I like how the jumps are not in their own little corner anymore,” Lindeman said. “They’re in the main part of the track now, and we can practice together.”
