When a school record is broken, it sets the bar for that specific sport. In track and field, several events for both boys and girls construct multiple opportunities for records to be broken, creating goals for those who strive to get their name on the records board.
So far this season, sophomore Jordan Banker, who cleared 11’3”, broke the women’s pole vault record of 11’, and senior Kayla Funkenbush ran a time of 10:56.67 in the 3200m run, breaking the previously set record of 11:02.30.
“It was pretty cool,” Banker said. “It’s been a goal of mine all season. My teammate Lexi [Heim] had actually set the record already this season, so it was cool to beat it again.”
Head coach Neal Blackburn hopes’ for more records to be broken as the season goes on. He believes records set expectations for the athletes and help motivate them to perform better and seek greatness.
“We expect to [have records broken] this season,” Blackburn said. “I think the girls 800m relay, the girls mile, the girls two mile [and] the girls 400m relay are all records that are in danger. On the boys side, I’m not sure if we’ll [get] records, but I think we’ll have some performances that will be better than some of the past years. I believe the boys 400m relay is the best opportunity [the boys] have for record breaking.”
Jumps and sprints coach Patrick Sasser and Blackburn both think younger members of the team hold the potential to eventually break records in the future. They believe focusing on training and having the determination to improve sets the athlete up for success.
“We are always looking to develop our younger kids into contributing varsity members of the track team,” Sasser said. “Any time a kid develops enough, there is always the potential that they could be chasing a school record when they are a sophomore, junior or senior.”
With thoughts similar to Blackburn, Sasser hopes more records will be put into place nearing the end of the season. He believes going into post season, training becomes all about pushing the athletes so they reach their full potential before competing.
“We want to have kids running their fastest, jumping their best and throwing the furthest they have all season when they are competing in their last meets,” Sasser said. “As we try to peak kids, we have a few kids on the cusp of breaking records that could eventually break through to set a school record.”
By: Cami Kudrna
Infograpic by Cami Kudrna