“If you’re on the track team, but not the XC team, fall is a weird time of year for you.”

At least that’s what thrower and jumper Brian Johnston said, when asked what fall is like for trackster’s not on the cross-country team. He expressed how many people might not know the track team even does anything during the fall, but fall is actually a very busy time.

            Brian Johnston throws javelin and triple jumps, so he is a bit of a rarity on the team. Jumps practices have a small number of people and throwing practice has even less. He’s a great representation of the two groups and will help provide insight into to both groups. “Fall track for the throwers is all about getting better,” Brian stated, “For jumpers it’s the exact same thing, but a little more intense.” He said that both squads have practice regularly on different days throughout the week, which makes it hard for him to practice for both. “I basically get to choose what I want to practice on a given day, sometimes I choose to jump and get some sprints in, while others I head up the hill to throw jav.” Brian stated. The hill is where all the throwing takes place, practices take place on the track as one would expect. Fall track for Brian is all about getting better in the two events he loves doing.

            Wyatt McCaplin, is a junior sprinter who is really passionate about running 400 meters and 100 meters. He’s a great representation of a traditional sprinter on the team and has a different perspective than Brian does. “Monday, Tuesday, and Thursdays are the days we practice, we lift Tuesday and Thursday.” Wyatt stated. Lifting happens after both of those practices and can be very taxing on the body. “I always feel sore after practice going into lifting, but I can tell it’s getting me better,” Wyatt said with some passion and fire in his voice. “Fall track is not about hitting the best times or being ready for actual competition, it’s all about getting yourself to be the best competitor you can be!” Wyatt said at a slightly high volume. Apparently, “People can suffer a lot of bad injuries during fall track, so it is important to not go overboard and over work yourself.” Riley said seriously. Riley was very passionate about getting better and really wanted to get track more exposure.

           The sprints/jumps coach is Andre Mcwell and nobody is more passionate and positive than Coach Andre. “Fall track is all about getting everyone in the best shape possible, it could be compared to what other teams call conditioning.” Andre said. He was very passionate and really wanted to emphasize just how much people improve during fall track. “People who give it their all and go 100% always succeed when the indoor and outdoor season comes around.” Andre also made a point of saying that not working too hard was important, “You gotta listen to your body man because if you push it too hard, your whole season could be over.” “Fall is a time to work hard on your grades and make sure you got everything down.” I found this to be inspiring honestly. Fall track is a time where a lot of work to get better is done.