The boys track and field indoor season is off to the races with their first meet under their belt and plenty more potential to show.
“I think we have guys who are working really hard and [have] high expectations for not only themselves but for their teammates,” head coach Jeffrey Purdom said.
Some goals consist of the team agreeing on finishing off their indoor season with state.
“State is definitely one of the most important things we take into consideration,” senior, Chris Frazier said.
Not only do these athletes have high expectations for their teammates, but they also have a good chemistry with each other and know how to keep each other motivated.
“They’re all pretty cool guys,” first-year shot-putter, Jesse Perez, junior, said. “We kind of just keep the jokes around, so we joke around a lot, we really do, it’s fun.”
The athletes are also working to improve their own personal abilities by setting goals for themselves to reach during the remainder of the season.
“My individual goals are to run under 4:30 in the mile and then under 2 minutes in the 800 meter,” senior, Alex Rojo said.
Some of these practices in work ethic may help the team against the highly competitive conference they are involved in for track and field.
“Our conference might be one of the best conferences in the state,” Purdom said. “We have a very good conference which is an important thing for us because it allows us to sort of compete at a very high level every week.”
It’s not just the physical work that goes into honing their craft, but the mindset the athletes go into each meet with as well.
“I think having a positive attitude in any sport is a great reflection on you as a person,” Frazier said.
Seeing others use this positivity can help drive the team overall for upcoming events and improve team morale as the season continues.
“I think that they’re motivated by trying to do well, and they’re motivated by seeing their teammates do well,” Purdom said. “So when a teammate has a good performance, that’s encouraging for the other members of the team.”
As the season just starts to kick off, only time will tell how well the team does at accomplishing their endgame goal of having athletes at the state competition.
“We’re just trying to get as many people down to state as we can,” Rojo said.