As spring kicks off in Nebraska, the seasonal sports at Gretna High School are starting to come into full swing. Track is an especially popular sport, and athletes are in line to train with teammates and create a high school experience that they will never forget. This year, before track season started, there were around 150 athletes who were going out, but the number dwindled to around 125 due to other events and problems with the scheduling of other students. The varsity team kicked off their season at Doane University on March 27, while junior varsity visited the College of Saint Mary for their meet on the same day.
In high school track and field, there are many events that all different types of athletes can participate in, including the track perspective of the sport – which is short, mid and long distance running, hurdles and relays. Then there are the field events, which include long, triple and high jump, as well as pole vault. Field also includes throwing competitions such as the discus and the shot put.
The track team is all one squad, but they are divided into the girls team and the boys team. The girls team is coached by the head coach, Ashley Hall, who is a para at Gretna Elementary School, and the boys head coach, Scott Swanson, who is a gym teacher at Gretna Middle School.
Emerson Johnson, a junior, participates in the 200m, 400m, 4×4, and 4×1. Johnson said that she loves not only her events, but also her team and the chemistry that the team holds.
“Track is really fun. All the girls get along very well, so it’s fun to hang out with your friends,” Johnson said. “The meets are also very long, so the bonds we have developed fast since most of us have races together.”
Track relays are huge, and the events are based on teamwork and not an individual’s abilities. The coaches work the whole season, switching athletes in and out of relays to decide who will be the best for Districts and State track.
Assistant Coach Bryce Brunswig works mainly from the mid-distance to long-distance range, which includes the 400-meter sprint to the two-mile run. There are many things that Brunswig said he loves about the sport that he coaches.
“It’s a cool sport that teaches you life lessons,” Brunswig said. “ For instance, when you jump higher or run faster or throw farther when you’re a sophomore rather than a freshman, you can see that your work will pay off. And it’s not going to be right away, but it’s going to be over the course of weeks, months or even years, you can see your work pay off. And that’s a really good lesson for life, because oftentimes we want to see results right away, but we have to learn to wait and work for things that we want.”
Along with track season starting up, the unified track team has started training and participating in meets. On the unified track team, there are currently 12 members coached by the head coach, Jessica Sollars, who works in the ACC room. Unified track has fewer events than track and participates in the 4×1 relay, the 100-meter dash, the shot put and the long jump. The main goal of unified track is to provide opportunities for students with disabilities to participate in high school sports. Sollars said she has a great time coaching the unified track team, and she wouldn’t rather be doing anything else.
“I love seeing the kids make friends with each other,” Sollars said. “During our first track meet, there were kids that had never really met each other before track practices started, and they had their arms around each other, were cheering for each other. It was really cool to see the teamwork and support for the athletes. I think that if people could see the smiles and the teamwork and the support that people on the team have, they would love it just as much as I do.”
During the unified track season, the athletes participate in six regular-season meets, and, if they make it to state, they have one additional meet. During track’s regular season, the varsity team has six meets, and the junior varsity team has two meets. The team hopes to also send several athletes to NSAA State Track which takes place from May 21 and 22.
