by Brooke Brownell

The Indoor Track season is at hand at Southeast. While the name “indoor track” leads one to believe this is a mild temperature sport, it is actually one of the coldest sports. In spite of the cold conditions, these athletes race with nearby schools in the 5A region and aim to win in the conference and state meet.

This year, Southeast’s team welcomed new coach Eddie Stone as well as new assistant coach Lukas Davis. Lukas is a Southeast Alumnus and is currently enrolled at Elon University. “The change from player to coaching has definitely been interesting. Practice and the season is now from a new perspective, and I’m able to focus entirely on our athletes," Lukas said. He works to establish coach and player connections while also gaining respect from his athletes. 

The head coach of the team this year is Bryce McCulley. Coach McCulley leads a talented team of both athletes and assistant coaches towards a shared goal. In order to meet the team goals, these coaches have helped the team create tailored workouts for their events and have implemented rules like running hills when a members of the team doesn't show up to practice.

Indoor track is similar to outdoor track but with a few differences. While temperature is the obvious difference, there is also a change in the types of events and qualifying. Indoor track does not offer javelin or discus, and the running distances vary slightly from outdoor track.  When qualifying for the state meet, time is the only thing that matters as there is no regional meet.

Cold weather is a rough aspect of this sport. Rhiane Driz, one of Southeast’s many indoor track athletes, states that the cold weather “takes a toll on my motivation to run." She also includes that she is still ready to train and states. “I plan to improve throughout the season by showing up to practice and giving my everything in all my meet runs. Equally important, I plan to take care of my health by eating healthier and trying not to get injured," Driz said.

The short season requires athletes maintain their health in order to demonstrate peak at both conference and state tournaments.

While the team’s first meet was originally scheduled for December 3rd, but unforeseen weather conditions forced them to cancel. The track team did not stop their preparation for the next meet, and a bright future is at hand for these athletes.