With recent success in the track program at SHS, second year coach Chris Stevenson expects nothing but the best from the team this year. Along with high expectations the track team has started to build around a motto. That motto is work hard, be kind and do great.    

“We want to go to state and if you want to, you have to do those three things,” Stevenson said. “I don’t know many kids that I have coached that have been able to get to a high level without doing those three things.”

Stevenson who used to be the sprinter coach at Plainfield high School for 10 years, started coaching track at SHS last year and out of all 16 events, two made it to state last year. Those events were the 4×100 meter relay and Senior Andrew Mappes made it in the 200 meter run. Stevenson holds high expectations for both events, not only does he expect those two events to do well but he thinks that there is a lot of runners who have proven themselves to be contenders in their separate events.

Junior Michael Crook has shown that he can be a big provider of points in the 3200 meter run (2 mile run). Crook who runs cross country said he has been working hard to get to the point that he has reached as of lately. He also had a lot of success in cross country this past season making it to semi-state with the rest of the team placing second in sectionals and regionals overall. Also he placed in the top 50 overall in semi-state. Crook holds high expectations for himself individually and he also has them for the whole team.

“As a team we are just trying to improve from last year for the most part,” Crook said. “We are to win, (and) we just want to compete with the best.”

Crook said that getting better at the 3200 just didn’t happen overnight but that he had to work hard at every practice and he just wanted to improve from last year. He said that there wasn’t very many times that he didn’t push himself to the max during practices to get work done. Not only does crook help the team during the 3200 he also is a part of the 4×800 meter relay team and he runs the 1600 meter run (1 mile.)

During the colder months of the season, most schools compete in indoor track meets. Indoor track meets consist of some of the same events as regular track meets but since the track is half the size (200 meters), some events differ. Some such events are the 60 meter dash instead of a 100 meter dash and the addition of the distance medley relay (1200, 400, 800 and 1600 meter runs in a relay).  SHS has competed in three of their four indoor meets already, and the fourth will be tonight at 6:00 at Depauw University in Greencastle, Indiana. This is one last chance for the runners and other athletes to qualify themselves for indoor state which will be held at Purdue University.

Expectations for this team are high and to be able to fulfil their dreams of making it to state they have to push themselves every single day. According to junior Gabe Collins-Green they have been pushing themselves every day with hopes of reaching their goal of making it back to state.

”We just want to bring track at Southport back up to what it used to be,” Crook said.