Sprinting has always been the place to go when an athlete’s sport is in the offseason, but for others they spend the whole year training for the short races. Track and field continues to rely on athletes from other sports, however, many boys have made a complete switch.
Senior Wyatt May competed in track his freshman year but decided to quit after making the varsity baseball team his sophomore year. After his junior season of baseball, May decided to quit baseball and refocus on track.
“I think that the most upsetting thing to me is that I didn’t spend more time on track,” said May, who will compete in two relays and one individual race at the District Meet tonight at Turner. “I wish I would have put more focus and effort into it in earlier years.”
May has competed in varsity track meets all season and been a top sprinter. At the Liberty meet, he finished first in the 200 meter dash. At the district preliminaries on April 2, Wyatt advanced to the finals in the 200.
Many athletes in the sport have built strong connections through the events they compete in. The boys in the 4×100 and 4×200 relays have built a connection that allows them to have better races. The teams often consist of May, Ryder Grabner, Aaron Andrews, Da’shaun Martin, Ky’ell Sheffield and Legion Chappell.
The sprinters have learned from and pushed each other through tough races.
“Wyatt, he gave me a lot of confidence and motivation because I never did the relay,” Martin said. “When he introduced it to me and taught me how to do it, it was pretty easy.”
Martin, who also played football, said he benefited from being on the track team and competing in other sports. Football and track coach James Showers has influenced many of the sprinters on the track team.
“I really [ran] for Coach Showers because I didn’t want to leave him,” Martin said. “I told him I wasn’t doing it after 11th grade and I didn’t want to let him down.”
The biggest transition some sprinters face when switching to track is adjusting to the mental challenge and pressure of competing in fast-paced events. May found what works for him and has tried to help his teammates.
“You always have to relax your mind and try not to think about anything else but getting to the finish line because at the end of the day, that’s all that matters,” May said.
