By DAVID WOOD, for The Democrat

As the day rolls past 4 p.m., sweat begins to bead on the faces of the Brown County High School track team. Their breathing gets a little faster and their movements more labored. Warm-ups are over, and it’s time for the hard work to begin.

“We’re only four weeks away from the conference meet, so it’s going to happen very quickly here, and we need to take advantage of each day,” boys Head Coach Kirk Wrightsman said.

He watches as the boys form a huddle. On a count of three they extend their hands together and chant “Eagles!” in unison before breaking into smaller, event-specific groups.

With only one meet to attend that week, Wrightsman and girls Head Coach Jay Myers dubbed it a training week.

[sc:text-divider text-divider-title=”Story continues below gallery” ]

While long-distance runners take laps around the school, Myers sets up a short, 30- to 40-meter sprint to evaluate his athletes’ running form and speed.

“I think we’ve had a good start this year. I’ve been trying a lot of girls out in a lot of different events to see what they can do, because my end goal is our conference meet,” Myers said.

“I think it’s a meet where we can be really competitive, and have been in the past. I want to see what all of our girls can do so we can see where the pieces fit the best.”

This season, Myers is adapting to an extremely young and new squad. He only has three seniors, and nearly half of his athletes are competing in the high school track program for the first time.

On account of that, he’s set up a big sister-little sister program.

“I teamed them up kind of like sisters. So I had any girl who’s been on the team previously and I tried to pair them up with a new girl. … So, often times, if I see something that the little sisters need to be doing, I go to the big sisters, the experienced girls, and I tell them to make sure their little has their gear and is doing what they need to do,” he said.

“I think that’s worked pretty good and has created a nice culture of unity amongst the team.”

In her fourth and final year of track, senior Coralynne Robinson is one of the more experienced members that Myers and company depends upon.

As a relay member and hurdler, she’s hoping to do her best and push as hard as she can in her last season. Despite the individual nature of the sport, she still has her mind on the team’s well-being.

“I just like how the whole team is coming together. We’ve all been super helpful, and we’ve all been encouraging each other and it’s such a nice thing to see,” she said.

“If I see one of the younger first-years struggling, I try to help them and show them how to do box starts or give them tips. Sometimes, when they’re running, I’ll sit and watch them and give them critiques.”

Fellow senior Evelyn Crimmins is in the same position. “I definitely count all of these girls as my sisters and my children. They’re definitely a good group of girls and I try to take them under my wing,” she said.

With six seniors on the boys side, Head Coach Wrightsman has a similar take on experience and leadership.

“I don’t want to tell someone they have to be a captain just because they’re a senior, but I think when you’ve been around the longest, been in the program the longest, and you know how everything works, then you’re going to be the person the younger kids look up to,” he said.

As one of the role models, senior Evan Fleischman is a three-year veteran of the track team aiming to improve and set an example. He hopes to break 45 seconds in the 4×100 meter relay and conquer 11 feet in pole vault.

However, he’s also crucially aware that his final days as a high school athlete are coming to a close.

“It’s scary, but I’m going to go out and compete to the best that I can. It’s my last year, so I’m going to go all out,” he said.

Teammate and fellow senior Jason Stratton feels as if he’s already improved a lot this season despite being weeks away from the conference meet.

“We’ve been putting in the hard work every day,” he said.

Similar to Fleischman and fellow seniors, he said the prospect of one day not returning to the BCHS track is upsetting.

“You know I’m probably not going to get another chance to do this again other than college, and if that doesn’t work out, this is it. So, I have to give it all I’ve got,” Stratton said.

He and the rest of the BCHS track team still have the rest of April and May to look forward to. However, coach Wrightsman still stressed taking it one day at a time.

“Everyday has a purpose. So we take it one day at a time and one meet at a time, hopefully, at the end of the year, that culminates at the state meet with as many qualifiers as we can get,” he said.

[sc:pullout-title pullout-title=”MEET THE EAGLES” ][sc:pullout-text-begin]

Girls track and field: Evey Crimmins, Kaylee Elkins, Anna Fleetwood, Bella Hobbs, Abigail Hollander, Cierra Hudson, Rachel Kilby, Chloe Lee, Monica Moreno, Coralynne Robinson, Summer Romick, Holly Royalty, Izzy Rygiel, Christy Sebastian, Natalie Suding, Kayley Vanderbok, Addison Volbrecht, Myah Woodard, Desirea Nash (manager)

Boys track and field: Aidan Burt, Marino Dolph, Evan Fleischman, Cameron Fox, Hunter Funkhouser, Dalton Hedrick, Dawson Lambert, Jackson McPheeters, Layton Mosier, Waylon Patrick, Brandon Phelps, Dale Phelps, Nick Ponzo, Vincent Ponzo, Nick Roman, Wanblee Roux, Rhett Silbaugh, Ricky Stanley, Jason Stratton, Kody Walsh

[sc:pullout-text-end]