As districts came to a close Friday, May 16, it meant the end of the season for many or even the end of a high school track and field career for various seniors.  Although an outsider to this sport may believe it was just another average year, the players’ opinions speak differently.

After breaking an all time record high of amount of track and field players in 2012, the program has lost nearly 40 participants since then.  Whether it be athletes quitting, too many seniors graduating, not enough freshman joining or a combination of all three, the track and field program is on a declining rate in terms of number of participants.  “It was fun and competitive at the beginning which I liked but it got boring after a while and I didn’t get the sense of a ‘team feeling’ like I do with other sports,” said junior Tao Oulman, a previous track sprinter.  The reasons for quitting from past players varied from person to person.   “It was not always something I looked forward to after school” said senior Jessica Calhoun, a previous long distance runner.   Track and field meets take hours to complete and they often consumed entire nights which is “disliked” by various athletes.  “When I was part of the team, it seemed like many players were not very enthusiastic about it,” said junior Max Rumaner, a previous track sprinter, “and this just gave off very negative vibes.”

Although the number of athletes on the team have dwindled over the past couple years, this has not changed returning players’ mindsets and attitudes towards this sport.  In fact some believe that these obstacles have inspired themselves to improve their skills.    When the season came around in the spring of 2014, the direction of the program was unclear. “The season started out on a rough note for sure but we eventually grew together as a team,” said Mckenzie Hutchinson, junior.  “We had to battle not only the laziness of players not showing up to practice but injuries too,” said junior Colin Kent-Daggett.  As the season progressed, however, things began to change.

“A little more than half way through the season, I began to notice a shift in focus,” said Hutchinson, “runners were striving to get better and that’s when I knew it was a turning point.”

The team’s practice and meet attendance improved. More meets were being won.  At last, the season was capped off at districts.  “I thought Lincoln performed exceptionally well and better than expected in our regional districts meet,” said sophomore Garrett Cheadle.  In the districts meet, Tess Michaelson, senior, ran a 57.21 seconds for the 400 meter race and a 2:13.38 seconds in the 800 meter race.  Both of these times were close to but did not quite brake state records.  After a season that lasted several months, Lincoln will be sending seven of its male runners and five of its female runners to the state championship meet at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon in a competition that will last between May 22 and May 24.

“We have definitely had some dysfunctional issues to overcome early on but we made sure this didn’t stump us,” said Kent-Daggett, “we got through this season, learned from this season and in the end we are progressing forward.”

“There is still a hard-working, very focused core group of athletes that maintain their work ethic throughout the ups and downs,” said Hutchinson, “the numbers may have changed, but we are still strong.”