While the pandemic has turned students’ lives upside down for more than a year, students are finding a new normal within track after Kim Reynolds signed a new health proclamation on January 7. Starting March 1, the City High track teams officially began having practices.

“I really just want my team to have what feels like a normal season, especially the freshmen. It can be hard to feel safe in a sport that is both individual and team-oriented,” Lilly Reynolds ‘21 said.

Although attendance has been less this year than in previous years, that has not stopped the teams from competing. 

 “I hope that everyone is happy with their overall season, that each person feels that they raced their heart out as much as they could,” Reynolds said.

 Students are required to wear masks whenever they are not competing and there are limited interactions between teammates and competitors following COVID-19 safety precautions. 

“There are a lot fewer people coming out and more absences, but I think it makes our team stronger and more competitive with one another,” William Arling ‘21 said.

On April 13, both City High boys and girls track teams competed in the Forwald Coleman Relays. The girls placed 4th overall with a total of 87 points while the boys won for the first time since 2014, scoring 158 points. The team of Sierra Pruessner ’24, Maya Morales ’21, Reynolds, and Jordan Sekafetz ’21 finished in second place behind Waukee in the 100 meter hurdles with a time of 16:30, while Parker Max ’22 and Noah Carey ’21 finished 2nd and 7th overall in the men’s 3200 meter race with times of 10:03.55 and 10:18.09. Additionally, Reynolds got 2nd in all her events including the shuttle hurdle relay, distance medley relay, 4×400 meter relay, and 400 meter hurdles.

“Forwald went really well. I was overall happy with my results,” Reynolds said. “It was also an amazing experience to anchor the last event for my team for my last ever home meet. I will never forget it.” 

On April 22-23 the track teams traveled to Drake Stadium in Des Moines to compete in the annual Drake Relays where they competed against some of the fastest runners in Iowa. 

“I think people benefit from track because of the camaraderie and [because] it’s something to do to keep you active. I know I’ll miss that,” Arling said. “It’s hard to believe that this is really the last year but it was good everyone tried to keep the season as normal as possible.” 

The Drake Relays was one of the last major track meets of the season, leaving many seniors feeling nostalgic about their time on the team.

“I will miss so much about City High Track,” Reynolds said. “I will miss getting to run up to a teammate after they just got a PR. I will miss getting that handoff just right after what felt like a million tries in practice. I will miss meeting new people and talking about random topics with them as we warm up for practice. I will miss everything about City High Track.”