Groton indoor track savors another record-breaking season

Last season, the Groton indoor track and field team broke multiple school records despite only having eight athletes on the roster. With a similarly-sized team this time around with nine athletes, the Red Hawks continue to make history—in particular with one standout runner.

Saying that Ross Bush is rewriting the record books at Groton might be putting it lightly. At this rate, he’s composing an entire saga. The junior has broken four school records this season alone, all distance events: the 300-meter, 400-meter, 600-meter and 800-meter runs. Adding in the three records he has as part of relay events in previous years, that brings his career tally to an astonishing seven. Bush reflected on the impact he’s continuing to make on the program.

“It means a lot,” Bush said. “My name is going to be up there for quite a long time after I’m done here, so it really means a lot that my legacy will be preserved in those records. I have quite a few here, so my name will probably be up there for quite a while.”

A big part of Bush’s outstanding success has been the strategy he’s implemented into his races. For example, he credited his head coach Scott Weeks for helping him set the 300-meter mark at the Utica Challenge on January 11.

“My coach told me to get out a lot faster than I normally do, because I’m normally a 1000-meter runner,” Bush said. “So I started on a three-point start, and it really helped me get my speed early on in the race, and I just kept pushing through to the finish and got me the school record.”

Similarly, Weeks praised Bush’s ability to not just retain those strategies but also be able to execute them at an exceptional level.

“He’s really a fierce competitor,” Weeks said. “He’s got a gifted talent, and he’s willing to listen to a coach that will give him guidance, who’s been there and done that, who’s run those races and say, ‘Hey, this is what you got to do.’ And he will listen. He’ll do it. He’s always been really good about that. When I give him advice, he takes it almost as gospel, whether it’s his diet or it’s a sleep routine…He’s a guy as a junior that just has the confidence. He looks at that record board and goes, ‘I want those records.’”

While Bush aims to break even more records this season—he already has his eye on the 1,000-meter and 1,500-meter runs—there are plenty of other success stories for the Red Hawks. David Shea is the lone thrower (and lone senior) on the team, and he has won the shot put at multiple meets. He continues to be one of the top throwers throughout the section even with an alteration in technique.

“He’s changed his form up in the circle,” Weeks said. “He’s doing a full rotation in the circle instead of doing a part rotation. In the technical events, when you change up your technique looking for sort of the long game, oftentimes what’s hard for these athletes to deal with is that your performances go down a little bit as you move into what is considered to be better technique. You’re spending time mastering that better technique, and your performances get a little bit slower or not throwing as far. He’s been a little bit down, but he’s still throwing over 40 feet.”

Along with Bush and Shea, sophomore Derran Morris is the other returner from last season. Of the six newcomers, half of them have carried over from the cross country team: freshman Caleb Downing and sophomores Wesley Sturmer and Bryce Wilkinson. With Bush also on the cross country team, that means there’s plenty of chemistry already built up entering this season and has spread throughout the entire roster.

“I’ve really enjoyed this group in that they really have good personalities,” Weeks said. “They bond really well with each other. We’ve got a couple of new people in there, too, and what’s been nice is that those four guys, including Ross, that sort of built this bond through cross country have really brought in some of these other new indoor guys into their group.”

Another aspect of the Red Hawks that has stood out to Weeks is how goal-oriented they are and how dedicated they are all into achieving those ambitions. As Weeks hopes to have as many athletes qualify for states as possible with a younger team, he knows that there’s plenty to be excited about for years to come.

“I think Ross and David will surely be in,” Weeks said. “[If] those younger guys and girls don’t quite make it in this year, I know that they’re going to certainly have those goals again next year. As I really work to try to build this program, trying to get as many kids as possible into that state meet qualifier is a goal that I have for them, and it’s a goal I have for them because it’s a goal they have for themselves. It’s pretty exciting.”