With a high sense of team spirit, the girls track team looks forward to qualifing several members for the state meet.

“So far, we have accumulated well over 100 personal bests since we began competing in mid-February. For a team of around 30 girls, that is pretty impressive,” John Prieboy, head coach, said.

Although the team is overall young in experience, a common goal to qualify for conference and the state track meet pushes players to do their best.

“A big motivator is the opportunity to qualify for the state track meet. It is a great experience to compete at state, with thousands of spectators watching you represent your school and your community. Even if an individual makes it down, it is seen as a success for the entire team,” Prieboy said.

There is a common mentality between the players to “make state and place at conference,” sophomore Kaila McLaurin said.

The team has an overall positive outlook towards future events with a strong sense of unity between the girls.

“We have had a few individuals show great improvement from last season to this season, but we are still trying to put all of the pieces together to create a highly competitive team,” Prieboy said. “An individual competitor is competing not only for themselves, but for the team, as each individual event yields points, which contribute to a team score. The mentality is, ‘how can I perform to score points for my team?’ Individual performances bring energy to the team.”

“We strive for teamwork and making sure we always support each other no matter what on and off the track,” McLaurin said.

The competition this year has proven to not be taken lightly. Along with multiple schools, there is the constant pressure to better one’s own skills.

“For us, our competition is ourselves. In the sport of track and field, you are only competing against yourself when you step to the starting line, runway, or into the ring,” said Prieboy. “The girls should look at our competition as an opportunity to become successful, not as an excuse for any shortcomings.”

The girls track team provides a very optimist point of view and are not to be deterred from the good aspects of track.

“I like the friendship, because it’s 9 or 10 strangers that you don’t know well, and by the end you’re really good friends,” sophomore Beth Rosenbaum said.

“At the end of the day, we are a team, and we end the practice or the meet as a team, as one,” Prieboy said.