This track season, the high school team has had many notable achievements. Although all of the meets so far have been exciting, the most exciting one is yet to come. This year the Colorado State Track and Field Championships will fall on the weekend of May 14th, 15th and 16th in Denver at Jeffco Stadium.

At the beginning of the season the Salida High School’s head coach, Randy Kapushion, was confident they would qualify the girls and boys 4×800 and 4×400. As well as individual events such as high jump, hurdles, shot, discus, and the 800. Now going into the last week before state we have the girls 4×100 and 4×200 relays, 1600 and 3200 runners, long jumpers, and sprinters in the 200 potentially qualifying. The many achievements of the team include senior Lilyanne Beck breaking six minutes in the 1600 and senior Carson McConathy breaking two minutes in the 800. Kapushion said, “It has been a very good year.”

Heading into the state meet, Kapushion responded, “I think the team has a positive and confident attitude, yet there is always a bit of nervousness because of how quickly the marks required to qualify for state change during the last two weeks of the season.” In track only the top 18 by the end of the season go to state for their event. Due to this you can never be fully sure that you’re safely qualified until the last meet before state has ended.

This year, the qualifying times are much more competitive than previous years. This year, the girls 18th place for the 3200 was 11:52.90, whereas the past few years cutoffs have been just over 12 minutes. Even with these tougher competitors the team is still expecting podium finishes and excellent performances.  

Kapushion said his main goals once they’re at the state meet are assisting and looking forward to each individual and relay team reaching their potential. Ideally this means landing on the podium. In the regular season, a successful meet involves getting as many athletes as possible to compete, athletes reach their best by setting new PR’s (personal records) and having the team watch and cheer each other on. Kapushion also remarked, “A trip to Chick-fil-a after the meet for dinner is always a highlight as well.”

Preparing for a regular meet, coaches emphasize the importance of developing the athlete’s event skill set, improving conditioning and endurance, trying different events and learning how to compete. As the team approaches the state meet, though, the approach differs. The focus is placed on maximizing performance. Kapushion said, “Once an athlete qualifies for State, the few days of training before are set up to get athletes ready, rested, and focused on their event(s).”

Making sure athletes stay sharp for the meet while also ensuring that they are resting is a fine balance. Kapushion said, “Our coaching staff helps athletes achieve a balance between rest and competition by taking a strategic, well planned approach that combines high-intensity training with adequate recovery in order to maximize performance and prevent injury.” Every day’s workout is planned and put into context of a multi-month season. Every workout is geared towards helping athletes peak during the last week heading into the state meet rather than a month before in the regular season.

Kapushion’s main message to his team before they compete at state is, “everything you need to succeed, you’ve already put in. Now, it’s just time to show it. The work’s done, trust it, go compete and have fun.”