The track and field team has seen a significant drop in participants this year.
According to senior varsity track runner Brayden Leach, there are roughly 80 fewer athletes on the team.

Because of a conflict with the coaching staff last year, administration was forced to find two new coaches, Courtney Crosta and Sondra Mays, to coach the team.

Leach feels that the lack of familiarity with the new coaches caused some athletes to become hesitant about joining or returning to the team.

“We wiped our entire coaching staff from last year, there is only one returning coach,” Leach said. “When you have no more attachments to your coach, you’re not going to have the same desire to come out and compete.”

Although they are new coaches, sophomore runner Jake Provins thinks that Crosta and Mays are doing a great job coaching the team so far.

“There are a lot less less familiar faces out there for us to communicate with, which is the main cause for the drop,” Provins said. “The new coaches that we have this year are very nice and friendly and I think they’re doing a great job so far.”

Sophomore runner Blaise Carson also thinks the new coaches are doing a great job despite being thrown into their new positions.

“I don’t think it’s their fault. It just kinda happened,” Carson said. “But they’ve been doing a good job and they’ve been helping more people get out there. They bring a new team spirit.”

Carson thinks that the team will not suffer from the drop of players but will struggle during the beginning of this season because of the adjustments they have had to make to the new coaches.

“I don’t think it will affect us at all, only in the beginning,” Carson said. “Adjusting to the new coaches is the only thing we have to worry about. We have some pretty good athletes on our team, so I don’t think it will affect us much.”

Leach thinks the drop of players will affect the team because they have less athletes to put up points and participate in events.

“We will not have as many people to put up points in meets,” Leach said. “We’ve never really been a school that has won titles, so that will affect us this year.”

Freshman runner Ana Alexis sees the drop of players in a positive light and thinks it will provide more opportunities for other athletes on the team.

“I feel like there are more opportunities for people now,” Alexis said. “I feel like it’s also affecting us as a team because the family atmosphere is a lot better.”