On Dec. 4, the Independence indoor track team had their first meet. The girls team was ranked fifth out of 12 teams, and the boys were ranked eighth out of 14 teams. After last season being condensed due to COVID-19, the team is happy to be back and can’t wait to compete.

“There are a lot of new people on the team this year, but everyone is trying really hard, and I think the season is going to go well,” senior Lulu Moran said.

One new person on the team is junior Alexa Kessler. She said, “I think the season is going well so far. Everyone is super nice, and we all get along well. Coach Davis is also really nice, and since this is my first year doing track, it’s been easy to make friends.”

In order to create a close bond, the team has done team-bonding drills during practice. Kessler explains, “We played capture the flag one day, which was pretty fun. We also played tic-tac-toe but in a relay style. Everyone was cheering each other on.” Though team-bonding is something they do often, an average practice looks different.

According to sophomore Emma Rosher, a normal practice day begins with the team doing a warm-up lap and drills (high knees, a and b skips, etc.). After that, the team stretches in a circle and then the coaches go over what each runner will be doing. In order to prepare for meets, the runners will practice block starts as well as practice running the event they are going to be competing in.

Through working hard and coming together as a team, the runners have been getting faster from meet to meet, and the team overall has been highly competitive. Rosher says, “I think we are going to improve since last season because we are striving to achieve that goal every practice. We all work hard to get faster, get our form better and ultimately get a lower time in events.” The team’s hard work paid off, as they came in first place at districts.

Members of the track team will compete in Regionals on Monday, Feb. 14.