Over the past few years, Oakdale’s track team has set various records.Runners on the track team tend to spike in their improvement, and it shows. They are currently preparing for their first meet at Linganore High School on Wednesday, March 20th for the annual Linganore Invitational Meet.

There are many reasons why people decide to do track, but there are a few in particular that tend to stand out. “I really didn’t want to let my team down. I know how important this is to them and it’s just as important to me to be able to do this sport to the best of my ability,” sophomore Emily Keefer mentioned.

In a normal practice, the long distance runners start out with two laps around the track and dynamic stretches for warm ups. The entire team does this together every day and afterwards, they usually do a long run that is around 50 minutes, but occasionally, they will do the same workouts as the sprinters. 

Track requires a lot of drive and focus, and that is one of the most crucial parts of wanting to improve and strive to be the best. Each teammate does a great job of pushing others when they’re feeling discouraged. 

“The person on the team who pushes me the most is Lola Keilty-Austin, because whenever I’m feeling down, or not running, she’ll always motivate me to keep going and push me to be my personal best,” explains Keefer.

A meet is thought to be one of the best team bonding/building experiences for the group. The moment they step on the bus to the meet, they get a feeling of what the rest of the day is going to be like, and that is lots of connecting with other people. 

“The reason you go to a meet is to compete, but the reason you remember it is the support you get from your teammates,” Keefer remarked.

The spring track team is a great bonding experience as well as an amazing athletic opportunity. Looking forward to a hopefully record-breaking season, the group is excited to see how they will do throughout the 2024 season!