The indoor track season has begun for the 2023-2024 season at MCHS, with players and coaches preparing for the indoor season by having indoor workouts before the invitational events start which are hosted by local schools.

Every year the MCHS track season begins with its indoor phase, in a series of track and field events held at schools such as Huntley, Burlington and Antioch. This is an important time for not only the runners but also the coaches to get a feel on how the team will perform during the outdoor phase of the season, and this year coaches and players are optimistic about the potential success the team could see.

Varsity boys track head coach and physical education teacher Dennis Hutchinson is feeling good about the start of the indoor season, and feels the indoor season is a good time for the team as a whole to put in the work needed to be successful during the outdoor season.

“During our indoor season we are working on building a strong base to build on as we progress through the season,” said Hutchinson. “Our sprints and jumps group focus on increasing max velocity, while our distance crew builds up mileage which will raise their aerobic threshold. They also join the sprinters once or twice a week to work max velocity.”

Hutchinson is not the only coach who sees the future potential of the team this year, Assistant Track Coach and Science teacher Anthony Jacks is also excited to see what the team can accomplish this season.

“I think we have a team that will be challenging to score some solid points in our meets this year,” said Jacks. “We have a really solid group of upperclassmen both on the track and in the field that will be scoring in a lot of meets. There is also a good group of Freshman and Sophomores that are continuing to develop and will be key contributors to our team this year.”

While the coaches are excited for the start of the season, so are the runners themselves. Junior Sammy Maye who competes in high jump, long jump, and the 400 meter is excited about the start of the season due to the growth he hopes to see throughout the season.

“We like to use a lot of the early meets to compare to the later side of the season,” said Maye. “We’re really warming up using the [indoor] meets to get ready for the outdoor season…We got a lot of good relay groups, we got some jumpers coming in, we got field guys; so I think we’ll place pretty high in all of the meets.”

With the indoor season officially kicking off on Feb. 11 with an invitational at Burlington Central, the team will use the coming days to prepare for a season they hope will bring success to all members of the staff.