The Mead Mavericks hosted the RE1J district track meet on Thursday, March 22. The Mead Men’s and Women’s teams both placed 3rd overall in the meet, and Mead athletes took first place in 8 different events.

“I kind of feel ready for this, because this is our home turf,” said freshman Bayleigh Melichar before she ran the 100 meter hurdles.

The coaches’ meeting was at 2:00, the field events started around 2:45, and the track events began around 3:00. The meet was held on a rolling schedule and ran smoothly and quickly, which did make it harder for some athletes to find time to warm up between events. “This meet’s going really fast,” said senior CJ Shellenburger. “There’s not a lot of warm up time.”

Some athletes have to race against not only themselves, but their own pre-race nerves.

“I just threw up a little in my mouth,” said Zack Collins, preparing for the Men’s 110 Hurdles for his senior season. “I’m scared; I have not practiced this,” said Sarah Scohy, another senior. “I’m scared but it’s all okay.”

Collins certainly overcame his own nerves, winning the Men’s 110 hurdles with a personal record of 16.01 seconds.

“I’m really confident,” said senior Isaac Dukes, who had just finished his leg of the Men’s 4×800 relay. “Any time Hunter gets the baton, I’m not worried.” Junior Hunter Payne, anchor for the Mead Men’s 4×800, fulfilled the trust of his teammates, taking them home to a first place finish.

Mead athletes scored well all over the field. “This was my first finals appearance,” said junior Landin Miyake while competing in Men’s triple jump.

This season, there are two new co-head coaches for the track team, as the previous head coach, Coach Reynolds, had stepped down for the season, but he still helped the team as the meet manager. “[It’s] relaxing,” he said of no longer being a coach. “It’s tough. I miss it, but it’s nice to be here helping out.”

One of the head coaches, Coach Swanson, is confident in his team. “I feel like we’re pushing them,” he said. “We’ve got some really good buy-in.”

That buy-in was evidenced in the team’s results with the following athletes placing first in their events:

Men’s 4×800 (Jack Weis, Justin McDaniel, Isaac Dukes, and Hunter Payne)

Men’s Hurdles: Zack Collins

Men’s 100: Jake Wachter

Women’s 1600: Sophia Maeda

Men’s 400: Hunter Payne

Women’s 300 Hurdles: Abby Glynn

Women’s 3200: Mikayla Hansis

Men’s Pole Vault: Nathan Vallad