Spring has arrived at Concord High School. The sun is shining brightly, birds are chirping, and the skies are blue. Everyone is excited to see what the track season has in store for these amazing athletes.

The team has a number of goals for the upcoming season. According to Coach Davis, “[They] hope to qualify a large number of boys for the state meet. We also want to put in a lot of effort to win the conference and state meet, or at the very least place in the top two.” It’s very exciting to hear the possibilities of this upcoming team and what they can do.

This year the track team has many new runners and returning athletes.  Coach Jurasek says both the newcomers and returning group is very strong: “While we face many opponents, the biggest one we face is ourselves. If we can do what we need to do all year, keep people focused academically and athletically we are going to continue to be a great team.” This year’s team has a lot of stand-out runners: eight runners that were all-state last year and returning to the team.

Cece Barrett, a freshman on the team, has been running track for three years and continues to set high goals for herself this season, such as being all-conference and all-state in the 400 and 800-meter runs. She’s dealt with knee issues and has taken some time off running for a couple of weeks; she is now back to running and training harder than before. Barrett  would like to continue to compete this year in the 400, 800, mile, and a relay of some sort. Last year Barrett  broke three records in the 400, 800, and 4/400 relay. She plans to become better than last year in this upcoming season.

Austin Bradley is projected to be the number-one thrower on the boy’s team this year and is super excited. This is what he has to say: “It makes me feel really good about myself. I think I’m going to go to states this year. Some of my goals this year include getting a record here at Concord and throwing over 123 feet so I can make it to the state meet. My goal isn’t just to throw 123 feet, it’s to put a marker at 150 and see if I can hit that. I have been working to improve during the off-season by hitting the weight room every day for an hour and a half.” This season Austin is excited to hang out with his friends, throw, make a good improvement on the team, and help people improve their grades. Austin loves to throw discs and plans to keep improving throughout the rest of the season.

Connor Keefer, a senior member of the track team, acts as a role model for the team’s younger runners. Connor competes in the long jump, the open 400, the 4/4, and the 4/2. Keefer shares that, “I expected my senior year on the track team to be different, but it’s not that different from previous years. I’m preparing for the offseason by attending practice every day, including over spring break.” He has high goals for this season, including coming every day to practice and qualifying for at least two events at the state meet.

The first meet of the seasons is on April 6th starting at 4:30, taking place at Western High School. If you can’t make it to an away meet dont worry, the first home track meet is May 10th starting at 4:30 pm. Come support these hard-working athletes.