On the Field: The Pacer’s Sean Grant interviews indoor track athletes on their upcoming season.
Senior Sergio Castro:
Q: What are some of your personal goals of improvement coming into this winter as you prepare for the spring season?
A: My goal of improvement would be to get big personal records in 55 and especially the 200m along with pr’s come school records.
Q: What are some of the teams goals of improvement this winter that you want to be accomplished?
A: As a team I believe that we can make top 5th in the Nagel-Saylor indoor invitational. As well as the York invitational. Two very good meets to see a lot of good competition.
Q: What do you do to prepare for the season and what type of offseason work does it require?
A: I train with Mr. Schweda on speed drills and explosive work. It takes patience to see results but I trusted in my training since I was a freshman and the older I got the more I was able to perform.
Q: Does the team have any practice/pre game rituals to hype the team up during meets?
A: The team has very good bonding skills which developed over the years. We would tell each other how great it would be to see each person perform well in their event which then causes us to to get hyped and produce when needed.
Senior Erin Fenelly:
Q: What are some of your personal goals of improvement coming into this winter as you prepare for the spring season?
A: Some goals I have would definitely be to get a lot stronger and faster and work on my technique so I have a good start coming right out for the first spring meet.
Q: What are some of the teams goals this season that you want to be accomplished?
A: We have a really promising relay team set up that we hope will make it far and might hit the state time if we work really hard. Starting last year the girls on the team started to bond and become closer than I’ve seen in previous seasons so I hope to see that same energy this year as well.
Q: What do you do to prepare for the spring season and what type of offseason work does it require?
A: If anyone wants to be successful in their season it takes a lot of offseason work especially on your own. I’ve gone to the gym my entire offseason and gotten out to the ring while the weather was still nice. It’s really hard to not get lazy when you don’t have a coach and a team encouraging you but once you get a good routine going you’re definitely going to improve the next season.
Q: Who are some of the top returning runners this season? (both boys and girls)
A: Some top returning runners would definitely be Nel Bochenski, Bernie Goodwin, and Lauren Schiele. As for the boys, Micheal Campbell, Sergio Castro and Aiden Schmidt
Head Coach Frank Schweda:
Q: What are some of your goals of improvement for the runners during the indoor season in preparation for the spring season?
A: We are looking to use the indoor season as a spring board to a successful outdoor season. The guys that have put in work in the off season will see will see positive results starting indoor and then progressing into the outdoor season. Some of the guys who are coming off of winter sports will take a while but should be ready for the outdoor season. The team hopes to compete with the best in our conference again this year. We also are fortunate to have some young men who should be able to get down to the state meet and compete there.
Q: Who are some of the top returning runners this year?
A: DISTANCE: Jack Martin, Stephen Barretto
SPRINTS/HURDLES : Sergio Castro, Noah Wilson, Nick Greazel, Michael Campbell
JUMPS: David Zieba, Mick Lawlor
THROWS: Nick Tannhauser
Q: What type of offseason work does track require and are there certain workouts that you like to do with the athletes?
A: With 18 different events – ranging from endurance events to sprinting and jumping to throwing, there are several different things that guys should do in the off season. Some are simple, while others may take some time to see results from. Our top guys are really very good about getting done what they need to get done in the off season. That could be lifting weights to get stronger, or getting runs in to build endurance. We also do short sprinting (open to all students on Mondays & Wednesdays) that helps all athletes get faster.
Q: How can running indoor track before the spring season benefit the athletes and give them momentum?
A: That’s simple – just like with school, the longer you study for a test the better you should do on it. The same w/ track & field. Guys are able to get in better shape by coming out and preparing for the outdoor season. They been acclimated to the practice workouts as well as the competitions. It also provides more opportunities to race and learn techniques and race tactics. It’s really a no brainer – don’t wait until the first day to do work, it’s usually to late then.