The Allen track and field team is preparing to get ready and qualify for the state championships in May. They practice every day and compete each weekend to get themselves ready for the big championship.

“Throughout the week we do a variety of workouts, we’ll do speed workouts to obviously build up your speed. We’ll do weight lifting to build strength and help our endurance,” sophomore Adam Price said. “We’ll also have rest days where we do low impact workouts so you can allow your body to heal up and recuperate for the next day.” 

Track and field has two seasonal categories — indoor lasts from December to January, and outdoor lasts from February to April.

“To make indoor or outdoor season, for indoor you usually have to be on varsity and you have to run a certain time because there’s qualifying times that allow you to do good in meets,” junior Sahara Tasker said. “Not everyone gets a chance to run on the indoor track.” 

In track and field, certain events are more individualized and personal, others are team focused.

“It depends on what you’re doing, the relays where they hand off the baton to each other, that’s more like teamwork where you have to be in tune with the rest of your team,” junior Marlo Linan said. “The regular events are more personal.”

To qualify for state, athletes need to rack up enough points. Each place has a different amount of points, first place is 10, second is 8 and third is 6 points. Those points add up to your team points and that’s how the athletes win for their division.

“The goal is to win state, most teams bring as many people as they can,” Tasker said. “You have to qualify for state. You rack up points like any other sport, but the points are based on your place at events.” 

Both the entire team or certain individuals can qualify for state depending on their events. The more athletes that qualify for state, the bigger chance there is for Allen to win.

“The team here in Allen is more diverse, bigger and way more competitive for sure,” Price said. “We have a stronger team here. This is the strongest team I’ve ever seen.”