This year’s track and field team has launched into the season with high expectations. The boys side looks to earn back-to-back NEPSAC championships with what is a very strong and well-balanced team, similar to the girls team, entering the season with high levels of excitement and joy as they look to make 20 consecutive top-five finishes at New England Championships.
The girls team graduated pivotal runners last year like Claire Palmer ’25, but a new, younger group is ready to fill the shoes that the seniors left behind.
The girls team took part in their first meet on April 4, and competed very strongly in events against Wilbraham & Monson. Junior Captain Selma Knutson talked about how the relay events are going to be an important part of the team’s season. “We’ve only had one meet, but our team for 4×100 was really strong,” said Knutson. “We’ve had smooth handoffs, and I think we’re gonna do really well in that this year.”
When asked about keys to the season, Knutson talked about how attention to detail is going to be very important when pushing for a championship. “We have a lot of new girls, so I think just listening and taking information that you’re hearing and applying it to your work is really gonna help us,” she shared. “Again, it’s such a mentality thing, and you have to have the right mindset for track and your events.”
The leadership of both the coaches and captains is important to the success of this team, but Knutson steps into a unique leadership role on this team. “I’m the only junior captain, so I kind of feel like I’ve got a little bit of pressure on me, but Mr. Baker told me you don’t have to be the best, you just have to be a leader,” said Knutson. “I think that really stuck with me.”
It’s these statements and the atmosphere created by the coaches that really allow the runners, on both the girls and boys teams, to thrive in their events.
When asked about what contributes to the recent success of the boys varsity track and field team, senior Captain Arthur Tittmann talked about how the coaches are always pushing the runners. Another contribution to the recent success is the different sports track is able to draw. “We have people from cross country, people from basketball, people from football, and they all come out, and they really provide a lot to the success, all across the board from distance to mid distance, from javs to throws, and it’s really kind of an incredible performance of KO’s athletic ability,” Tittmann said.
Senior distance runner Dorian Ciscel mentioned how skills in other sports carry over to track and field. “The football players are great throwers and sprinters, and the soccer players run mid-distance and perform really well there,” said Ciscel. “Cross country fills in the distance end of that with the 1500 meter and the 3000 meter races, so I definitely think that our success in other sports makes us a more balanced team.”
In Assistant Coach Fritz Goodman’s last season with the program, he wants all his runners to continue improving. “I would say that we want them to do the best they can,” Coach Goodman said. Head Coach Alex Kraus agreed. “Even though there are lots of challenges, there’s always challenges, like not having an actual track,” Coach Kraus said, “but we want people to improve, and we want people to not be afraid of trying new things.”
Coach Goodman also connects the program’s success to the mentality of the coaches, saying that the atmosphere they create and the experience they bring go a long way for the success of the team.
Both the boys and girls track and field programs are trending upward and are in action again on April 25 when they take on Brunswick School.
