By Lucy Moran
Each day after school, around 50 Branford High School track athletes make their way onto the James L. Macveigh Alumni Athletic Complex field. There isn’t a single person without gloves, and a necessary hat.
The wind blows cold across the turf as the BHS winter track team meets for practice. There is so much more to track and field than just lining up side by side, and seeing who can move the quickest.
This is not just track and field, this is winter track and field.
The meets happen indoors, but a majority of the training and preparation takes place outside in often frigid, messy weather.
On the BHS girls and boys sides of the program there is a wide variety of throwers, jumpers, sprinters, hurdlers, and the gritty distance runners.
The BHS turf comes alive each day with the rhythmic thud of shot puts hitting the ground. There is an art and technique behind the straightforward task of throwing.
Meanwhile, the jumpers can be found near the outskirts of the infield. Jump, after jump, after jump they defy gravity with every leap. Long jump and high jump demand a unique blend of strength and speed. The jumpers need a quick run up to the line, and an even more explosive jump for height or distance.
There is senior Avery Clouse at the high jump, and junior Ella Stone working on her long jump.
“There’s so much consistency needed to be good,” Stone said. “I mean I’ve been working at it for years straight. It’s hard to see a bad result, but you just have to keep on pushing.”
As we shift our focus to the track, you will see the sprinters explode from the starting blocks; they navigate the oval in seconds.
Senior Captain Joelle Budz, leading the sprints says, “It’s really hard work, and we do a lot of things you wouldn’t be able to guess.”
The sprinters have to consistently lift, do band work, work on longer runs, practice starts, accelerations, mobility drills, rotational drills, and much more.
For the hurdlers, the track is transformed into an obstacle course. Hurdling requires a combination of speed, rhythm, and technique, more than any of the other event groups. This group of individuals works with the sprinters on most days, but have much more work to do. Coach Connell has many specific drills in place to hone in on the hurdlers’ needs; such as hurdle simulators as well as mini hurdles for muscle elasticity and bounce.
Last but certainly not least, the distance runners take on the track, trails, and the roads each day for practice. From a transition of cross country in the fall, the distance runners get to take their art to the track.
Senior Noah Hauswirth, leading the pack, emphasizes the discipline the group needs.
“The best part about being a distance runner is that it’s all up to you,” Hauswirth said. “You have to come to practice each day ready to work hard. You have to push yourself each time you step on the track. You have to have a good mindset. You are the only factor that determines how good you can get. It’s really a mental thing.”
The first two meets of the 2023/24 winter season consisted of the SCC girl’s developmental meet and the SCC boy’s developmental meet, which were held at the Floyd Little Athletic Complex in New Haven. Notable performances on the boys side were Enaji Muhammad jumping 6 feet in the high jump, coming in 3rd place overall. The Branford boys’ 4×200 meter relay came in at 13th place overall, qualifying for states. The group is made up of juniors Peter DiStasio, Justyn Velasquez, Supremee Shrestha and Muhammad.
For full results and the schedule, click here.
Notable performances on the girls side include Joelle Budz coming in 4th place in the 55 meter dash with a time of 7.64 seconds. Lucy Moran won the girls 3200 with a time of 11:12. The next meet for the team – boys and girls – is the SCC Coaches Invitational on January 20 in New Haven.
“No one knows what goes into it [the sport of track],” Connell said. “You can’t be good without becoming good at each skill set necessary. You need to lift to be fast, and you need to practice resistance to be explosive.”
Each day after school, these athletes push their mental and physical boundaries to the limits.
Editor's note: Lucy Moran is a member of the BHS Girl's Indoor Track team.
