Both of Lancaster High School’s track boys’ and girls’ teams are officially sending runners to state competition.  The girls’ team won while the boys’ team got runner up for the Fulton Relays and broke their 23-year-old school record. They also both won the Gahanna Relays, the Rocky Brands Invitational, and the boys’ team won the Joe Lenge Dublin Classic meet. Their seasons will continue through the first week of June when their state competition will be held.

Head coach Joseph Moorhead said that an additional accomplishment of the season was individual athletes achieving their goals. 

“Seeing runners, throwers, and jumpers set personal records on a meet by meet basis is always a highlight to be appreciated,” coach Moorhead explained.

LHS junior distance runner Ava Parrett, Indoor state champion elite thrower junior Aubree Beery, and sophomore distance Harper Allen all said that teamwork helped them be successful.

“I had lots of support from my coaches and teammates. They all helped me realize my potential. Another special moment was breaking the four by sixteen record at Fulton Relays. Breaking the record was an amazing feeling and it was so much fun to do it with my friends. We have worked so hard throughout the season and we got to showcase it,” Parrett said. 

“We won Fulton Relays, my four by sixteen team beat a 23 year-old school record and we are all just starting to drop our times in all of our events,” said Allen.

“My favorite highlight from this season is Fulton Relays. It is a magical night when everyone in the community watches all events and cheers on everyone no matter how you run, jump, vault, or throw,” said Beery.

“Me and my teammates Lauren Deem and Allie Locke took gold in all three throwing events at the meet. We could not have done it without lifting each-other up and keeping ourselves accountable leading up to,”she said. 

According to coach Moorhead the track team’s dynamic is very strong working together.

“Our athletes support each other.  They root for each other during the meets and push each other during practice.  With such a large team in different events, cohesion is sometimes difficult, but our individual event groups do a good job of supporting each other,” Moorhead said.

LHS distance runner senior Zane Schorr feels staying in the moment is the best option for him to graduate and enjoy the remainder of his season.

The highlights of my season are breaking 2:00 in the 800 meter race and  4:25 in the 1600 meter race. My senior athletic year has had some ups and downs through the whole season but I found out to only pay attention to the good moments as I don’t have much time left until I graduate high school,” Schorr said.

LHS senior distance runner Oliver Roush said his accomplishment was running in meets.

“Just a couple of weeks ago at the Wayne Invitational I ran another one-second PR in the 4×800 meter relay split in which we won the race. My senior athletic year has had a lot of ups and downs and it has overall been an amazing year for me getting to go to states in cross country and in indoor track,” said Roush.

Parrett and Schorr said from their experience, running can take a mental and physical toll on the body. 

“I think this season has been mentally tough for us all. A lot of people see distance running as something that is very physically demanding but they do not realize the mental aspect. Distance running is so challenging when you are not in the right mindset,” Parrett explained.

“The most challenging thing for me this season is getting back to the same fitness level and confidence I had last season. For the team it is very similar. We need to be more confident when running in races and compete with the other teams,” Schorr said.

With track being so physically demanding the coaches make sure they check on the kids to make sure they are still able to run and compete. 

“As with any sport, it is a challenge to keep everyone healthy and physically and mentally fresh during the season.  We monitor how much we race our kids, and sometimes it is a challenge to convince kids who want to compete that some rest is a good thing,” said Moorhead.

Another challenge that the teams faced was having to replace top runners from last season. Beery said that although difficult she had to rise to the challenge.

“My athletic year has been one of my best. As a junior I had to step up into a huge role in the throws after losing Peyton Wilson. Filling the role has been very challenging,” Beery said. 

“The most challenging part for throwers this year is losing two elite throwers. We lost our best discus, shot-put, and hammer throwers. It has been difficult this season to replace those spots but the whole team has come together and worked extremely hard in the off season and indoor season,” she commented.

“We lose a lot of talented seniors next season, so one goal will be development of our underclassmen.  We focus on that a lot throughout the regular season.  Some races are entered with intentions of helping the team next season,” Coach Moorhead explained.

Beery summed up the most rewarding aspects of participating in track and field.

“It has taught me to never give up on myself and always work hard towards a goal that seems impossible. Which is an important lesson I have had to learn taking on the leadership role on the team,” said Beery.