Among the multitude of events that have been canceled due to Covid-19, the track season also came to a premature ending.

“We have a lot of talented athletes that will miss their chance to showcase themselves for 2020,” boys track coach Wayne Hall said.

The team is doing their best to keep their spirits high, according to senior Linden Combs.

“I am very sad that this year’s season was cut short. However, I think the team is handling it really well and everyone is keeping a really positive attitude, so that’s good to see,” Combs said.

Not being able to have practice or attend competitions as a team doesn’t mean the hard work stops.

“I have been trying to do my own training. It’s just not the same without the team since there is hardly any motivation to keep the workouts as intense,” junior Olivia Baer said. “I have been running some miles whenever I can about 2-3 times a week, and I have been trying to do ab workouts and keep the muscle I already had.”

The coaches are doing what they can to keep the athletes encouraged and motivated.

“We have been communicating with our team via zoom conferences, providing words of encouragement along with inner squad competitions,” Hall said.

Inner squad competitions are physical challenges such as seeing how many burpees you can do in a minute or how many push ups you can do without stopping.

Typically junior year is when colleges begin to look at athletes interested in competing at a collegiate level. Unfortunately juniors hoping to start the recruiting process will have to wait. 

“I do want to run in college, and as a junior I feel like the current circumstances are hurting that a lot,” junior Reuben Reina said. “During the recruiting process for track and cross country, coaches look at your junior track season as the most important to them.”

As for seniors, this was many of their last opportunities to compete.

“Obviously our seniors are taking it hard, as their chance to run in Har-Ber track uniforms one last time is no more. The biggest thing I will miss about this season will be the opportunity to help our athletes maximize their potential,” Hall said.

Though it is not the season athletes were hoping for, safety is the number one priority.

“My team and I are disappointed, but we understand the precautions that we need to take. We are handling this situation the best we can,” senior Saylor Vera said.

Moving forward the team plans to continue training on their own, so they’re ready for the next time they can resume practice.

“With track season coming to a stop, it’s been a rude awakening realizing I have to workout on my own everyday to stay in shape.” senior Jules Velliquette said. “It’s definitely a challenge being as motivated to workout apart from the team and it makes it harder because it’s fun to all workout together with your teammates. I miss that for sure.”