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Peter Lipinsky

PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT. Elizabeth Tuttle practices for her next meet by leaping over the hurdles. Last year, Elizabeth qualified for state after she finished in second place in the 100m and the 300m hurdles.

Track and Field athletes are generally recognized for their individual success: Usain Bolt’s 9.58 second 100m or Javier Sotomayor’s 2.45m high jump. However, Spartan Track and Field thinks the opposite. They believe that the team aspect allows individual performances to be great.

At the track meet on Apr. 6 at the University of Minnesota, track captain Oliver Thompson came fourth in the 60m dash and performed well in other events. However; being successful at these meets is not where he feels the most pressure.

“I think there is less pressure to perform, but I think there is more pressure to be a good role model,” Thompson said.

Part of being a good role model as the captain is teaching new participants how to be good teammates. A good teammate will support and encourage their teammates on and off the field or track.

“I think that you run by yourself in the race, but all your teammates are involved with your races and you feed off of each other,” junior Taylor Barkwell said. “So if you have one teammate who’s doing really well, you’re gonna go and try and chase that teammate down and they’re going to try and carry you through the hardest parts of the race and vice versa.”

Being a good teammate isn’t always about the work that you individually put in to perform at your best. Sometimes, it is about the work you put in to help your teammates and your team flourish.

One of the ways Oliver takes on a teaching role is by helping new participants with equipment. When new participants are struggling with using starting blocks, they are devices that help runners not slip or fall with their starts, Oliver helps them use their starting blocks the way they are supposed to. He does this in practice as well as in meets.

“Being a captain this year is really fun. I think with some of the lead practices kind of take more of a teaching role during a lot of practices,” Thompson said.“Especially if you have coaches that are spread really thinly, I can fill in a lot of times.”

Sophomore Clare Ryan Bradley values the power of training with people she calls teammates and friends: “They pushed me in practice,” she said. “This year for me and my race, Elizabeth, she [recorded] my split (time) for the two months or so.”

For athletes to succeed, they have to lean on their coaching staff and especially their teammates.

At the University of Minnesota Fieldhouse, Spartans Track and Field Finished fifth in the meet.

Their next Track and Field meet is at Blake on May 7.

Update 5/9 @ 9:38: This story has been edited for conciseness.