This indoor track season started with challenges before the team even got into a routine. At the very beginning of the track season, the team had a lack of coaching staff due to a variety of factors. But some coaches, including Steven Szarmach, came out of retirement to help.

“The most challenging part of this indoor season was the lack of coaches to help us critique our technique, and the amount of practices we missed because of snow and trying to stay consistent throughout the end of the season,” said sophomore Jayden Wrigley.

Snowstorms also caused the team to miss multiple practices before winter break. Just when athletes were getting ready to build up fitness, learn drills, and improve techniques, several snow days in December shut down everything, so students were unable to train for a week of practice. However, Coach Melanie Kennedy sent out workouts and implements to help the team practice over the long winter break.

After Christmas break, things got even harder as more snow hit, and once again, practice was canceled. Missing out on practice a second time made it difficult to stay prepared, and many athletes felt like they were consistently restarting instead of progressing. Conditioning dropped, timing fell off, and it became harder to stay mentally focused.

“I stay motivated by staying in the word of God, which allowed me to stay disciplined to put in that work despite setbacks, ” said sophomore Timothy Smeds.

The toughest part came near the end of the season as Regionals got closer and the team sometimes had to run indoors or travel to other schools in order to practice.

“The indoor track season was quite challenging. I tried to continue to motivate athletes through various team bonding activities, and continued reassurance that the training that we did was enough to carry them through to the postseason. I was incredibly proud that they didn’t let the many missed practices interfere with their success,” said Kennedy.

Overall, the team achieved a 2nd place finish in the Regional championship on Feb. 13. These six athletes qualified to compete at the state meet in early March, representing Fluvanna and their individual events:

Jayden Wrigley: 2nd place in shot put; season best of 47-01

Ethan McPherson: 3rd place in pole vault; season best of 14-03

Garrett Jordan: 2nd place in long jump; 6th in the 55m dash; Regional champion in triple jump and 300m; set a new record in the 300m triple jump

Jack Jeffries: 3rd place in the 1000m; 2nd place in the 1600m

Izabella Campbell: 3rd place in the 500m

Ruby Frazier: 2nd place in the 3200