Robbinsville using winter season for improvement, achievement
Robbinsville – It’s early, but the forecast indicates a bevy of Knights will be competing at the state indoor track meet.
A sport that is often hampered by limited participation at Robbinsville – but actually saw the first Knight compete in 2009 – the indoor track season has already checked two meets off its season slate, but the pack of Knights assembled for the chilliest sport of the year has already set 11 new school records across the infancy of the campaign.
“Now that the sport has been recognized as a Smoky Mountain Conference sport, rising interest in the conference – plus the chance for conference awards – we have had an increase in numbers,” coach Kaitlyn Carringer-Adams said. “I think that now people are starting to realize it’s a sport, so in the next few years, it will continue to grow.”
The only catch to “indoor” competition in the division is … well, there’s nothing indoor about it. While the state championship meet is always held at JDL Fast Track in Winston-Salem, the closest indoor facilities to the conference are in either Asheville or Johnson City, Tenn.
Thus, meets often carry the moniker of “Polar Bear,” as student-athletes vie for first place in rather brisk conditions. But if the first two meets of the year – Nov. 17 at Murphy and Dec. 1 in Robbinsville – are any indication, the stacked roster is up to the task.
“The group of athletes we have on our team are hard working and talented, and their stats prove that,” Carringer-Adams said. “In order to qualify for (the) indoor state (championship), an athlete must hit a qualifying mark for each event. It is a 1A/2A championship, so these marks are hard to hit for a small, 1A school.”
The teams is bolstered by five seniors – Montana Buchanan, Lisbeth Cervantes, Kamdyn Jordan, Caylin Lunsford and Haize Moore. Buchanan set a new PR (personal record) in the shot put at the Dec. 1 home meet, while Lunsford – along with junior William Cable and sophomore Zoie Shuler – have spent time working in the offseason at AAU meets across the southeast.
The results speak for themselves.
“Our 4x200 relay team (sophomore Delaney Brooms, Lunsford, junior Kensley Phillips and Shuler) qualified for state at the first meet and is ranked first on MileSplit,” Carringer-Adams said. “Along with the relay, Zoie has qualified in the 55-meter dash, plus the long and triple jumps. She also holds the school records in those events.
“Caylin has also qualified for state in the long and triple jumps. She has really helped build up the track program, by recruiting athletes during the past few summers. She is a true definition of how hard work pays off, from all of her improvement since her freshman year.’ “Haize has broken the 55-meter hurdles school record and along with Montana, those three have really stepped up and been leaders for the team. All of them will do anything you ask of them and more, and we couldn’t have better leaders for the season.”
Cable has already set a new standard in the 3,200-meter run, while Brooms is the new record-holder in the girls 300-meter dash.
“Zoie had an incredible outdoor track season and is already ranked first in the state for all four of her events for the indoor season,” Carringer-Adams said. “Delaney is a key player in the 4x200 and has broken the record in the 300-meter.
“Kensley is already running faster than she did in last year’s outdoor season, despite the fact that she has had some injuries. William has also broken a school record thus far in the season and has improved his times as well. Taelyr Jackson and Zeb Stewart are two others who have been working hard and working towards PRs this season as well.
“There are a few other athletes that have joined later in the season – due to fall sports just now ending – and we are excited to see what they will bring to the table as well.”