On Saturday, April 28, Leesville Road High spring track and field took on the Cap 7 conference championships. Southeast Raleigh High hosted this event and the stakes were higher than ever as the Pride took on our district’s toughest athletes.
“The competition was tough,” said Geoffrey Travagline, Leesville’s spring track and field head coach. “The girls’ side was especially competitive, and the boys really took the opportunity given to them and shined.”
The boys did — in fact — shine, bringing home a solid third place behind rivaling schools Broughton and Millbrook. Following a fourth place in the conference meet last year, this victory displays a tremendous amount of improvement.
Though the boy’s impressed with their tremendous growth, the girl’s team and their outstanding performance–a repeat conference title–stole the show.
“You know, I’ve kind of got used to the girls doing well, and I always expected them to win,” said Ian Hixson, senior and distance runner for Leesville’s track and field team. “I’m just interested to see how they do at regionals, and hope their success continues.”
These are huge victories for Leesville, and it showcases the vast growth and development for the team as a whole.
“We’re not focused on one set area, whereas most schools have some hyper-focus (distance, sprints, jumps, etc.),” said Travagline. “We are well rounded in all areas, giving us a huge advantage over all teams.”
Leesville truly put on a show in this particular conference meet–be it jumping, throwing, sprinting, or distance, the athletes truly displayed their diversity in skill and cohesion as a team.
“We scored points everywhere we could; little by little everything added up and led to a victory,” said Timara Chapman, senior and member of the Leesville track and field team.
The track and field team has little time to bask in their success as the date of regionals rapidly approaches. Both the boys and girls look forward to future success in the upcoming regional and state meets.
