T-burg track competing in Section V

At the beginning of the year, Section IV postponed indoor track indefinitely due to a lack of facilities. Most indoor track meets in the section take place at colleges that are not currently approving mass gatherings. With that being the case, Trumansburg indoor track joined Section V for a six-week season that will end Feb. 19.

The meets have been taking place Friday nights at Pinnacle Sports Complex in Victor. There are 15 schools in Section V competing, and Section V allowed five associate schools. Trumansburg is the only one from Section IV. The team is coached by Bryce DeSantis, Julian

Munoz and Robert Reakes. DeSantis discussed how this came together.

“Section IV had just said ‘you can do it if you want to do virtual meets, or if it’s nice enough weather, you can meet at a track and do some stuff, but we’re not going to, as a section, hold any meets or run a season,’” DeSantis said. “We’ve got a big group of kids and parents. I think some parents knew somebody who talked to somebody who said, ‘My kid who’s up the road in South Seneca is going to do indoor track.’ So, [Athletic Director] Jason [Hodge] called and got the last spot as an associate member.”

There hadn’t been any competition in track or any running sport since the indoor track state championships last year. DeSantis talked about the experience of going to a meet again.

“It was wild and exciting,” he said. “Kids were just really happy. They were really excited just to get out there and do anything. It was hard because they hadn’t put themselves out there like that and we only had two weeks of practice before we had our first meet. They’re just really happy. I’ve heard from I don’t know how many parents (…) ‘Our kids are coming home tired and spent and happy as they’ve been.’”

DeSantis went into further detail about the impact competition is having on student-athletes.

“So many parents are saying, ‘Thank you, they needed this,’” DeSantis said. “‘Our kids come out of their room and come downstairs and are talking to us. They’re coming home sore and saying that was the hardest practice I’ve had in so long and I loved it.’”

As for the competitions, Pinnacle Sports Complex is not built for track meets, but they’re making do. The indoor track is on turf and has no lanes, while the outdoor track features sharp turns with just three lanes. Due to the lack of proper equipment and setup, shot put and high jump are the only field events available. For the athletes, though, competition is competition.

“It’s pared down, but the kids don’t care,” DeSantis said. “They’re like, ‘I’ll do whatever.’ We’ve got kids who have never done indoor track before. Because we were the only game in town, they’re like, ‘Whatever I can do to compete and be around people and do something physical.’ In practice, they do whatever we say. Whenever we say they have to be 6 feet apart, or have to keep your mask on, they’re like, ‘Yep, no problem.’”

This was a creative solution for the inactivity that student-athletes have been dealing with for the past year, and it has received support throughout the district.

“Kimberly Bell and the Board of Ed and Jon Koeng, the principal, they’ve all been really supportive,” DeSantis said. “They’re really backing up Jason and making that decision together, which was really great because they work really well together. It was good that they trust us. They know what we’re doing. We’re all in school every day, so as far as coaches, we know what’s going on, we know what’s happening, and everybody knows what’s at stake.”

Practices are unique too. The team utilizes any and all space available to it, bouncing around to different areas around the school grounds to get their running in. DeSantis detailed what practices are like.

“We try to do a lot of running in the gym and in the hallways and outside,” he said. “We do a lot of pushups and squats and lunges — anything bodyweight we can do and to kind of mix it up. We’re running through ladders and over hurdles and just trying to keep it fresh but also pretty compact. We’re going for about an hour or so so our exposure is not big. We’re just trying to get in, get out and really focus on strength and conditioning and getting back in shape because these guys have been sitting around playing Nintendo and watching Netflix a lot.”

There are two more regular-season meets left on the schedule for the Blue Raiders. However, as an associate member of Section V, they won’t take part in any postseason competition. The end of the indoor track season is lining up with the return of high-risk sports in the county, and the multisport athletes who took part in indoor track will have a head start on the competition.