by Eden Kreighbaum

Due to the unseasonably warm winter, preseason training and conditioning is taking place on the new track and field. The opportunity to train on the new regulation size facility before the spring sports season is benefiting students, according to athletic director Mark Hough.

“There’s a lot of girls that have been [on the track], especially the spring athletes, and the weather’s been so nice that they’re just able get out there,” assistant athletic director Tyler Abney said.

Winter temperatures have averaged around 40 degrees in January and February and the warmer climate has allowed for athletes to train outdoors on the track and field, which has an Olympic-grade track surface and the first regulation size soccer/lacrosse field and track STA has had, according to Hough.

The facility is going to have an impact on soccer and lacrosse because athletes will be able to preseason train and practice on it, according to Hough. STA soccer, lacrosse, and track are in the highest respective divisions, which means they compete against the biggest schools. The new track and field will give athletes the opportunity to practice on the same type of facility in which the division competitions are held on, which are regulation size facilities. The track and field will also affect spring sports because now the track team can practice such things as hurdles on a track and not in a parking lot, and soccer and lacrosse can practice on a smooth surface, according to Hough.

In addition to independent training, two conditioning groups and the UMKC track team are also using the facility. The goals of the conditioning programs are training for spring sports and also to provide workouts, according to Abney.

Freshman Hayden Lee is a member of a group of runners training for track who use the track after school. Earlier in the year, runners would have to go to a park near the Country Club Plaza to have an area to run, according to Lee.

“I think [the track] benefits [preseason training] because it’s right there, ” Lee said.

In addition, the athletic office has made the field available for soccer pickup games two days a week, according to Hough. Lacrosse athletes come and train after school on the field also. According to Hough, the new facility will benefit spring sports and make them more enticing to possible new athletes.

Because of the earlier start in training for spring sports on the regulation size track and field, STA athletes will be prepared for later district and state competitions, Hough believes.

“[The track/field facility] is going to make all the difference in the world,” Hough said.