Track Off the Track

Track is more than just the running portion, there are also many field events that involve jumping, throwing, and pole vaulting.

Coach Zanzie is a new Track Coach at Fair Grove and is well known. Zanzie explained how he has been enjoying his new community, “I have absolutely loved my time at Fair Grove so far. I am so impressed by the kindness and embracement that I have been given in my short time here.  Coming from a district that I spent nearly a decade at, I was a little nervous how long it would take me to build relationships among students and staff. I have been so happy how this school year has gone. I feel very supported as a member of this district.”

Lauren Thomlinson (12) is involved in a lot of things and shot put and discus are two of them. “I always knew I wanted to throw because I hated running, so I began to throw shot put and discus in middle school. I realized that I liked shot put the most and was pretty good at it.”

Thomlinson explained her favorite parts of throwing shot put, “I enjoy shot put because I enjoy competing against myself (getting a personal record) and others.” Thomlinson has broken two school records, she broke the old shot put record and then continued to break the new record she set. “When I originally broke the record at the Buffalo Meet I threw 37 ft 0.5 in. At the Girls Night Out Meet, I got a PR and reset the record to 37 ft 6in. I broke Erin Easterly’s record, of 36 ft and 6in, that was set back in 1998.”

Taylor Green (11) explained why she started participating in her field events, “What made me choose long and triple jump was I showed some interest in long jump in middle school, and ended up being pretty good at it. I started triple jumping my sophomore year and quickly figured out that I was strong in that event as well.”

“I would say long jump is my favorite out of the two, I love long jump because it looks like you are just flinging yourself into the pit when actually there is a lot of technique that goes into it,” Green revealed. While Green loves long jump, her favorite thing about track is something more than an event, “My favorite thing about track is probably the environment and the people that are in it.”

There are more than just jumping and throwing field events, there’s also pole vault. “I chose pole vault because one of my good friends told me it was fun and I would be good at it,” Explained Shelby Haskins (10).  

Even though pole vaulting is new to Haskins he talked about his goals, “My personal record is 9:6 but hopefully by senior year I can be vaulting 14:6.” Haskins’ favorite thing about track is quite similar to Green’s, “My favorite thing about track is hanging out with my friends.”  

Track is a good source of community and exercise, but it also teaches the athletes many things they can use outside of sports. Haskins said, “The one thing I’ve learned is that you have to be good at other things to be great at one thing.”