By Kara Ennis, Paige Glynn, Renner Grable
Going into this upcoming season, there are multiple key returnees and talented freshmen who are set to help break records for the track team.
One of the talented freshmen on the track team is Benjamin Hommell. Hommell, a sprinter, has found himself on varsity relays to start his career.
“The biggest difference is seeing how much faster the high schoolers are then the middle schoolers,” Hommell said.
Hommell has ambitious goals for the next four years, but he is on track to achieve them.
“My goals are to beat the 4×1 record this year or next and try to beat some of Will Riley’s records,” Hommell said.
Junior, Will Riley who placed third in the state for the 100 meter dash, is one of the team’s key returnees. Since last season, Riley has not stopped working.
“In the off-season, I trained two days a week with my speed development trainer,” Riley said.
Rileys’ goals are set with the State meet in mind.
“My goals are to go to State for the 100 and the 200 meter dash and medal in both of them,” Riley said.
As the season begins, the smaller meets are preparing runners for the big meets to come.
“The smaller meets get me mentally prepared for the bigger meets. The only thing that I think about is that it’s me versus the clock,” Riley said.
Another key returnee for the 2024 track season is sophomore Lily Rollings. Rollings, a distance runner, placed 41st in the State. This gave Rollings valuable experience for the upcoming track season.
“I have noticed that the freshmen and younger kids who come in each year are very talented, and every year more competition appears,” Rollings said.
After a successful fall season, Rollings has goals to accomplish for the spring season.
“My goal for this season is to get the mile record and keep getting personal records,” Rollings said.
Senior, Amy Luttrell is also expected to have a successful season. Luttrell committed to Indiana State University in the fall, which has taken some pressure off of her 2024 track season.
“I think because I’ve already committed to college it has taken some pressure off of me. Last year, I was worried about doing well so I could impress college coaches, but now I can just focus on having fun and doing the best I can for my last season,” Luttrell said.
Coming into freshman year, Luttrell had never pole vaulted in her life. Now, Luttrell is fifth in the State for pole vault and hopes to achieve even more this season.
“I never expected anything to come out of me starting pole vault. I was originally just a sprinter, and I wanted to letter freshman season, but I didn’t think that I was fast enough, so I thought, well, not very many people pole vault, so I kind of just went for it,” Luttrell said.
As the State meet slowly comes into view, Luttrell has given herself a goal.
“I would love to win State. I’m happy with what I have accomplished these past seasons, but this would be my last thing to do, and I would love to end my high school career on that note,” Luttrell said.
