At 4:00 in the afternoon, the temperature is around 45 degrees on the Bob Jones track, and once the sun dips below the tree line, it will become cold enough to see each of the 60 members of the indoor track teams’ breaths. Some begin their warm-up laps early, while others wait for Coach Presnell’s signal to shake off the shivering and begin running. Another practice begins.
Based on the circumstances, the name “indoor track” seems misleading. Indoor track is named so for where the meets take place: the indoor track at the Birmingham Crossplex. In order to compete at the meets, which take place most Saturdays from December to February, the track team leaves Bob Jones at 6 AM and returns late that night. The next meet is set to take place on Martin Luther King Day.
While the meets take place indoors, conditioning does not.
“The problem with indoor track is the weather’s always so sketchy. It’s just never ideal,” Coach Presnell, who has been coaching track for 36 years, said. “It’s really difficult for us to do some things in cold weather…explosive type things like long jump or pole vault.”
Still, senior Moriah Lorge, who holds not only the school record for female pole vaulting but also first-place medals from the last two meets, believes that outdoor is the more difficult season when it comes to meets.
“Everything can be controlled when it’s indoors,” she said. “Outdoor, everything depends on the weather.”
Others disagree. Avey Gooch, also a senior and the only female thrower for track, summed up her preference for outdoor as, “It’s called indoors, but you don’t practice indoors, and it’s cold, very cold.”
The track team began conditioning mid-November and continued through winter break, with a practice even scheduled on Christmas Eve. The benefit of that hard work has already begun to show; over the last three meets, Bob Jones has placed in 19 events.
A sampling of events include:
- Avey Gooch placing 5th in girls shot pot
- Julien Lewis placing 5th in boys shot put
- Emika Miyamoto placing 4th in girls 60m hurdles
- Brandon Alexander placing 4th in boys 60m hurdles
- Lillie Robinson placing 3rd in the girls 3200m run
- Moriah Lorge placing 1st twice in girls pole vaulting, setting a meet record and resetting the school record
The track team isn’t afraid of a little cold and consistently prove their commitment to the task at hand, a fact Coach Presnell knows well.
“Most of the kids that are on the indoor track team are just…y’know, track’s their sport,” he said. “Moreso than they’re a football player and run track in the spring to help their speed. Only the most dedicated kids are on the indoor track team.”
