Track Begins Its Season

“What sport is probably the most televised sport in the Summer Olympics?” asked track and field coach Corey Binnebose.

The answer to that question is: Track; which among gymnastics, and volleyball is one of the most popular sports in the Summer Olympics.

GHS Track began its season this past Monday and track runners have been looking forward to the season and enjoy running with friends who push them to work harder. Students and Binnebose explain their favorite part and background in track.

“There has only been four years since 1983 that I have not either competed (middle and high school, college) or coached track & field,” said Binnebose. “I guess it is just a part of me.  Now my son is running track for his middle school and wants to break my best mile time.”

Junior Alyssa Dobbs explains her dedication to the sport.

“I run track because running is one of my favorite things to do. My favorite part about track is having a bunch of people around to motivate me to run harder,” she said.

Sophomore Kelsey Sodemann has a passion for track and enjoys meeting new people.

“I decided to join track because I love running and it is always something that has interested me. My favorite part of track is meeting new people,” she said.

Sophomore Rosemary Gosseck-McNeal joined track because of her friends.

“I decided to join track because I had a couple friends who were in it and I thought it would be a good workout,” she said. “My favorite part of track is being able to support my teammates and friends during meets and having them there to cheer me on as well.”

Binnebose encourages students of any age at the high school to join track.

“Students should join track & field because we need a wide range of athletes, from distance runners to sprinters to throwers.  I try to adjust the workouts individually so we don’t hurt the rookies,” he explained. “It is a true test of strength and tolerance to pain.”

Students explain what motivates them to strive to be better.

“Even though staying motivated during the offseason isn’t really a problem for me, I find running with others pushes me more. Plus, my coach is there every day to push me,” Dobbs said. “Thinking of my goal times or how hard I have practiced motivates me. For meets, I always remind myself to try my best and trust my training,” she explained.

Gosseck-McNeal’s motivation comes from her family.

“My teammates and my family encourage me to do the best in track because they support me; I want to make them proud, as well as reach my goals,” she explained.

Binnebose describes the different types of activities that students will do during practice.

“Each day the athletes have a big warm-up that is actually like a mini workout itself.  Next, there is set amounts of running depending on their events,” he said. “Two days a week there is starting block and relay hand-off practice, hurdle practice almost daily, shot and discus practice about three times a week, and long and triple jump practice three times a week. To cap off a day we always hit the weight room and also have some body weight or flexibility exercises.”

In track, runners have a variety of events to choose from. There are many field events, such as the high jump, shot put, and long jump, as well as many different distances ranging from the 100 m dash to the 3200 m run. There are also many relays.

“I like distance running; I run anything from the 400 and up, but primarily the 1600 and 3200,” said Dobbs.

Sodemann also enjoys running events over 400 meters.

“I run the 800 and the 2-mile relay because it is a fun race to run,” she said.

Gosseck-McNeal, on the other hand, enjoys a different event: throwing shot put and discus.

“I throw shot put and discus because I found that I was good at it and that it was a challenge; it really pushed me to work hard and meet the goals I had set for myself,” she said.