A) Unlike Cross Country, almost all practices will begin and end at TCA North. Official practices typically start in late February, but there are plenty of optional sessions for both weights and runs during December and January. Coach Daggett will send out weekly emails with info for the whole team and Coach Norton will add on anything specific to just the distance team. Practices generally run from 3:20-5:20. On non-meet Saturdays, Coach Norton may have the team meet offsite for a long run which he will always communicate about. 

A) The team will continue practicing over spring break, with Coach Daggett typically moving practices to the morning. Expect practice times to be around 10:00 AM–12:00 PM. Coaches understand that many athletes may be traveling, so there will be some flexibility this week. However, there may be minimum attendance requirements to compete in the meet scheduled for the weekend following spring break. Coach Norton will communicate those expectations to the distance team.

A) While some XC athletes may compete in other events, typically you can expect the distance team to be entered into the 800 meter, 1600 meter or 3200 meter. They also make up the 4X800 meter relay team. A few times a season they will may get the chance to run the 400 or in the 4x400 meter relay. Unlike Junior High track, it is very rare for a distance athlete to be able to compete in another event group (like throwers or jumpers) just based on the specificity of training and practice for each group as well as the complications on meet days. 

A) Generally you can expect meets to allow 3-4 entries per school per event although during the regular season that can vary meet by meet. For the distance team, athletes typically compete in 1-2 events per meet with a very rare occasion where they might have 3. 

A) Coach Norton usually is in communication with the distance team about what events he is thinking for them so they should have a pretty good idea. Coach Daggett will send out the official "heat sheets" the week of the meet with the exact events everyone has been entered in. 

A) A "Heat Sheet" is something Coach Daggett will send out the week of a meet showing which events everyone has been entered in. 

A) Similar to Cross Country, the JV/Varsity situation can be fluid throughout the year based on meets. There are always some "JV only" meets throughout the season and those typically happen on weekdays in the afternoon and are usually local to the Colorado Springs area. There are also some mixed meets where there will be both JV and Varsity competing. Finally there are some meets that are truly Varsity only. Coach Daggett sends a schedule out at the beginning of the season with all meets and calls out which meets fall into which category. At that point it is important for your athlete to be in communication with Coach Norton as he will typically have an idea of where each runner will be placed. That does change as the season moves on based on performance and potential injuries but generally you know a week in advance whether or not your athlete is competing in a meet. 

A) Unlike Cross Country, track meets can last the majority of the day. If your athlete is competing in multiple events the day can be long. For the distance team however, many weeks your athlete will only be competing in one event making your day shorter. Similiar to cross country, athletes should arrive at the team tent 90 minute prior to their scheduled race. Many meets work on a "rolling start" meaning the exact time of your event is not guaranteed. Coaches typically update the Team Reach App as to whether the meet is running ahead or behind schedule. 

A) No the schedule can vary from meet to meet. Outside of the 4x400 relay almost always being the final event of the day, everything else can change. Coach Daggett will always send out the meet schedule and you can usually find it on MileSplit as well. 

A) While the schedule changes year to year, most meets are along the front range. For varsity level runners you can expect a few meets in Pueblo, a few in the Springs and a few in Denver. There is a chance for a meet or two in Northern Colorado (Greeley, Johnstown, Berthoud, Longmont etc). Most of those are on Saturdays. JV only races typically are in Colorado Springs or South Denver on a weekday during or after school. 

A) Both jerseys and shorts are provided by the school and are checked out at the beginning of the season. Coach Daggett sends out specific instructions at the end of the season on how to return uniforms. The big word to the wise is dealing with sticker goo on the uniforms. In track each runner gets numbered stickers to attach to their uniform. Washing uniforms with stickers/goo still on them causes problems. "Goo Gone" is a popular item athletes have used in the past to help take care of cleaning their uniform. 

A) Shoes/spikes and a digital watch all similiar to XC. The weather in the spring in Colorado does make track a colder season than XC. With that being being said, warm clothes are very important for both the athletes and all of the parents in the stands!

A) The State Championship is held at Jeffco Stadium in Lakewood, CO. 1A-5A all compete at the same location over a 3 day event. The 2026 State Championship will be May 14-16. Here is the schedule of events which rotates each year. For 2026 TCA will be competing in the 3A Classification. 

A) To qualify for State, you must have one of the top 18 times in your event throughout the season. Unlike XC where Regionals determines who makes State, the track list is much more fluid as times change each week with each event. This especially comes in to play over the final few weeks of the season as athletes are chasing times trying to qualify. If your athlete is on the bubble, expect a few last minute meets over the final weekend (last chance meets) for them to try and qualify. One easy way to keep up with rankings is through MaxPreps Boys Results and MaxPreps Girls Results. You can filter by event, just make sure you are choosing Colorado for state and Class 3A for Division. They can take a few days to update after a race. You can also use the "rankings" section of MileSplit but a pro subscription is needed for that one. 

A) A TCA athlete can letter a few ways: Hitting a performance standard, top 3 in an event, or regular participation at the varsity level. 

A) Coach Daggett sends a weekly email (usually on Sundays) that are full of information, fun facts, recaps and plans for the upcoming week. These are must reads and always very entertaining. The track team also utilizes Team Reach just like the XC team. The group name is TCATF and Coach Daggett will send the code out for the group at the beginning of the season. The app is great for live updates from meets, changes to practice because of weather etc. 

A) Yes, the main ask of parents through the season is volunteering at the Titan Invite which is TCA's home meet. A sign up will be sent out and typically there are positions for either the early session (early afternoon until dinner) and then the late session (dinner to finish). A variety of positions are available like long jump pit rakers, discus measurers, check in table etc. It takes a lot of parents to help pull off this meet which does attract some very good teams throughout the state. Typically the 2nd Thursday of April

A) There is an end of the year track banquet (similar to how XC does it) and that usually takes place sometime the week after state. In recent years everyone has met in the auditorium as a large group for first time letterwinners, academic honors, and MVP's then each position group has split out separately for other recognitions.