Track and field is a sport that students can participate in at Granger High School. It happens every year and ranges from a variety of sports. These sports include running, jumping, and throwing. These then get broken down into even more activities, such as running.
Running gets broken down into the 100-meter dash, 200-meter dash, 400-meter, 800-meter, 1600-meter, and even relays. If you don’t know how long these races are, one lap around the track is 400 meters for reference. Tanner Fleichel (9), who is on the track team this year, says he’s more of a sprinter and is participating in the 100-meter dash, the 200-meter, and the 400-meter.
Apart from those shorter sprint competitions, there are also other races which are longer distances such as the 800- and 1600-meter, which is what Wesley Johnson (9) does.
Since he is more of a long-distance runner, Johnson uses a different strategy than sprinters. He must conserve energy and use it up evenly during the race to last him for the entire course as opposed to running very fast.
Johnson not only runs solo, he also works on a team by running in the 4×8. The 4×8 is a type of relay where four people each run 800 meters while carrying a baton and passing it to the next runner once they finish with their portion of the race.
You can also participate in other things like hurdles. Hurdles are when you must jump over obstacles that are placed on the track to try to make it to the finish line. Speaking of jumping, there are also high jumps and long jumps.
Tanner does not only run sprints but also long jumps too. A long jump is where you get a running start and then jump the farthest into the sandpit. With a high jump, you get a running start but instead of jumping as far as you can, you jump as high as you can over a rope and then land on a padded spot to not get injured.
Track and field events aren’t only about running either, you can throw, like Jacob Harvey (12). Jacob participates in the javelin throw. This is a sport where players attempt to throw a big spear as far as they possibly can. It might sound easy, but it is a lot harder than it sounds. Jacob is a runner just like other people too, he participates in the decathlon which is about 10 different sports.
But Lancers don’t have to run, jump, or throw to be on the team. They could also be a manager, which is what Reese Cloward (9) does. He says that he joined to be manager because he didn’t want to run, but he still wanted some way to be on the team and participate. Managers help the coach set things up and help the team. They’re in charge of some of the team supplies like water bottles and a few other things.
Track and field is an awesome sport, and it’s a very difficult sport to win (so to speak). No matter what schools they’re competing against on the field, these athletes can always hit a fresh PR or personal record, and this pressure to beat that last PR never goes away.
