Track

Newark athletes have been doing fantastic for their first track team. It is amazing how far the team has come from start to finish. There has been a lot of fun throughout the season with the athletes.

"The athletes who are dedicated about being at practices and take the workouts seriously have all improved a great deal. I am really thankful for those athletes and we will need them to be leaders next year as the program continues," said Coach McCoy.

From March to the end of the year there have been several personal records that have been broken. Breaking your own time, distance, or height is not a very easy thing to do, and it requires a lot of practice.

A couple team goals for the year were for the athletes to break their own time, distance, or height. Another goal that the coaches had for the athletes was to learn how track and field functions as a sport.

Most of the athletes have worked hard to break their personal record. The 4x800 relay team with Remington Kempiak, Kyle Scott, Antoine Dalle, and Chance Weismiller has been running the relay for several meets now. At the Yorkville meet, they broke their record by ten seconds. At the girls only meet in Oregon, there were eight girls, and each girl broke a personal record in at least one event.

There was a girls IHSA Sectional at Seneca High School on May 13. Newark came in sixth place out of the 15 teams at the meet. Unfortunately, none of our athletes proceeded to state. Kylie Eike received third pace in pole vault. She jumped 7 feet 9 inches. Second place got 8 feet.

"Our lives would certainly be easier if we did have a track, but I think we have done a very good job of getting quality workouts and learning without one. Doc Schutt has measured out a lot of different distances throughout the community, and we implement them well. We also take advantage of the facilities at Cross Lutheran, which is a big help. I know that next year there will be much stricter policies on not attending practices that will help the program have more successful practice times and really determine who is dedicated to the process of getting better,' said Coach McCoy.

This year has been a great experience for Newark. The athletes had a fun time in practice and still managed to get their workout in. I personally am very thankful for Dr. Schutt and Coach McCoy for coaching and Mrs. Navarro for making it possible for Newark to have a track program.

By Remington Kempiak