With the arrival of the warm temperatures and inklings of springtime, many of this season’s sports are warming up, one of which is boys’ and girls’ track and field.

Track and field is one of the oldest sports, not only since the creation of sports, but also here at Central. Track and field is also one of the more popular at the school. The no cut policy and general accessibility has made track a fun option for those who wish to join a sport in high school.

“I’m really excited for outdoor track because I do the 300 meter hurdles,” said Emma Stapleton, junior. “We have a lot of juniors and sophomores stepping up this year on varsity. The team this year is really about the younger people, since there are not as many seniors on the team.”

As the temperature increases, so does the enthusiasm of track and fielders. While practicing in the field house, many runners expressed their eagerness to move practices outside.

“I’m really looking forward to outdoor track this year since we are doing indoor track right now,” said Joey Armonda, junior. “Outdoor has the 300 meter hurdles, which is my best event. I think we have a pretty solid team this year. There is always a really strong bond between all of us as we race together.”

As many know, running can be one of the most difficult activities, which is why bonding as a team is a theme with runners.

“The friendships you build in this sport are really different,” Stapleton said. “Track seems to have a larger variety of people so it doesn’t seem as ‘clique-y’ as other sports.”

Like other sports at Central, track and fielders often undergo grueling training.

“I personally do hurdles, so we do hurdle practice right after school [every day],” said Shawn Zhou, junior and varsity hurdler. “Sometimes we do running, and other times we do cardio. Most of the training is pretty hard.”

The spring track and field season begins in late March while indoor track started in February.

“I’m really looking forward to competing in conference and maybe sectionals,” Zhou said. “I just want to get stronger this year and keep getting better.”