Track season is in full swing and on Wednesday, May 5 the Indians had the first away meet in Oakdale. Competing in the Valley Oak League has been a challenge, but Oakdale High has strong records for all events. League meets have been occurring at home for the past few weeks, so competing somewhere else was new and nerve racking. 

    When scoring a track meet there are points given to the team for the top three athletes in each event. The first receives five points, the second three, and the third one. Times for runners and distance for field events are given out to each person who competed. Oakdale’s meet was not scored and unofficially timed due to Covid-19 restrictions. Athletes were competing for themselves, not to win. 

    “I like competing in a sport that has both individual and team aspects because while I enjoy the idea of working together, I also like the idea of relying on myself and my skill alone to complete a challenge,” stated freshman Madison Hendley.

    Working together to achieve the same goal is important to the competitive outdoor sport. Everyone needs to be working hard to gain points for their team, but also to reach personal goals. Having the ability to tackle both aspects of the sport is what makes it possible to have a great team. 

    “Knowing the meet wasn’t scored was disappointing, but I didn’t let it affect me. I still went out and did my best,” said junior Daniel Hendricks.

Not keeping score of the meet was something new for the athletes. This could have affected athletes and caused bad performance, but they competed as if the meet was the same as any other. 

“When I race I always find myself wanting to push myself no matter what the situation, so even without scoring I kept pushing,” explained senior Abigail Rangel.