A gentle breeze blows against the sprinters faces as they settle into the blocks. Grey storm clouds rotate in a circle overheard. The runners load into their blocks, one step at a time. Silence falls over the track, a brisk wind hitting the runner’s faces. “Get set” is followed by the ringing sound of a blank being fired off. 16 feet pound against the rubber track, racing for the finish line 100 meters down the track.
Over the past few months, the Jesuit Track and Field team have excelled, with many runners making it past the district level.
Pole Vault
Senior Collin Lark finished 3rd at the District Meet in Murphy, qualifying for the Area Meet with a jump of 13’6”.
Chase McManaman also qualified for the Area Meet after a 4th place finish, jumping 12’6”.
Discus
Senior Wyatt Hummel went all the way to the Regionals Meet, finishing second at the District Meet with a throw of 158’11”. Hummel won the Area Meet with a throw of 153’10”. Hummel finished his stellar run at Regional Meet, finishing 9th and throwing 141’3”.
Shot Put
Junior Tommy Roy won the District Meet, throwing 48’11”, winning by two feet. At the Area Meet, Roy threw for 45’11 1/2”, barely defeating a Sachse shot-putter to win 2nd place . The junior finished his season off in Waco at the Regional Meet. Roy threw for a new personal best of 49’5 1/4”, placing 7th.
100 Meter
Junior Jhalen Spicer qualified for Area, running an 11 second 100 meter dash. The day before, Spicer ran a new personal best of 10.85 seconds in prelims. Spicer finished out his season at the Area Meet, where he came in 7th with a time of 10.89. Jhalen said he thought that “the season went very well…But we still have a lot to prove [next year]. We have a lot of people returning and this team means something to all of us. So watch out for us… we’re coming”.
Relays
The 4×100 meter team moved all the way to the Area Meet after finishing fourth with a time of 42.87 seconds. The team, consisting of juniors Spicer and EJ Smith, sophmore Max McFarland, and freshman Patrick Bennett ran a 43.28 at the Area Meet. The 4×200 meter relay team, made up of Spicer, Smith, McFarland, and freshman Cole Younger came in 4th with a time of 1:30.59. The team then finished 5th at the Area Meet with a time of 1:30.07, made up of the team of Spicer, Smith, McFarland, Bennett.
Hurdles
Junior Jalen Leonce came in third at the District Meet in the 110 Meter Hurdles. Leonce qualified for the Area Meet with a time of 15.73 seconds, coming in 3rd place. Leonce wrapped the season the season coming in 5th at the Area Meet with a time of 15.29 seconds.
The Jesuit Track and Field team had an amazing season filled with great efforts by all the team members. While we wish the best to the seniors as they go to college and we are proud of their success this year, there looks to be lots of talent and promise ahead for our athletes.
Overall, as Will Norris ’19 said, “I thought as a team, we had a fantastic season… we tried and did improve [daily]'”.The graduated senior finished saying he believes “the team has a pretty promising season cup ahead”, so look for Jesuit’s 2020 Track and Field team to dominate next year!
