On March 12, 2018, at three o’clock, the AHS girls and boys track team kicked off their season.

Sophomore Emma Mengwasser said she was really excited for this season, choosing to continue practicing the sport from last year. She says the reason she stayed with it was because she loved it, got in shape and of course, had a great team and coaches.

Sports can take up a lot of time, especially with two hour practices at night from three to five, and meets on Saturdays, normally all day. One way Sophomore Alexa Knuth manages her time is using her study halls “wisely,” and getting “any work done I can, in class.” Otherwise she finishes her homework at home, “working without distractions is key.”

Mengwasser also competes in cross country. Even though she loves track, she prefers cross country, in which she also runs for AHS.

Cross country and track are both running, right? So what’s the difference? According to Sophomore Abbey Julius, who has also competed in both, cross country, in the fall, is more distance, and track, in the spring, is sprinting and long distance. Mengwasser also says that they are different in the way that you train depending on what race you compete in. In cross country, you all run together, but with track you split into groups to practice.

Julius also prefers cross country, because the team puts in more milage during the practices and season. In track, she runs the 1600m, or the mile. Knuth’s main event in track is the 800m, along with Mengwasser, who also runs the 1600m.

Although this is her first year, Knuth ran cross country in seventh and eighth grade at her middle school. She chose to do track this year, because she wanted to do something new, and she missed the sport after previously having to quit because she was also a swimmer.

The AHS girls track team welcomed a new coach this season, Allison Delzer. Julius says that “she really pushes us so we can achieve more.” Mengwasser agrees saying that the coach, “is a really great runner and coach.”

Knuth is most looking forward to the “team bonding experiences and meets,” as she also experienced in swimming for AHS. She really enjoys when her teammates cheer her on as she runs past them,

“They are so encouraging it makes me feel so good when I’m running,” she said.

The best advice Julius could give for incoming freshman, this being their first season was, “run fast.” On a more serious note, Mengwasser said that new runners should “just have fun,” and try their best.