Three meets into the season, the Dos Pueblos High School track and field team is already seeing the results of months of offseason training, with athletes competing in the Royal Classic at San Marcos High School, the Don Green Invitational at Moorpark High School, and the Spartan Relay at Rio Mesa High School to start the year.

After much training, athletes are now settling into their track events. With more than 200 students in the program this year, athletes have been working on refining their performances and strength training as the season ramps up.

“During the off-season, a lot of the kids were in different sports, so they were able to do soccer, basketball, or football,” said Rosina Garcia, the new head coach of the track and field team. “Kids were continuing to weightlift, and train, and do drills, so the kids were doing a lot just to stay in shape and be ready for the first day of track.”

According to Garcia, a typical practice day starts with a two-lap warm-up and dynamic drills. Then, athletes separate into their designated events.

For multi-event athlete Makyla Watt (9), who competes in the 4×100 relay, 100 meters, 200 meters, and long jump, said her practices involve balancing both sprint and field event training.

“The usual practice would be probably three 200-meter sprints, a couple 100 meter sprints, and then I would go to the pit for long jump,” Watt said. “With the meet coming up, I started focusing on long jump more, and so did the junior varsity jumpers.”

Watt shared the “practice paid off,” culminating in wins across all her events.

April Harper (12), a long jump, triple jump, and 200-meter athlete, said that the team participates in intrasquad meets to get a feel of what the real one will look like.

“Before meets, we don’t usually do any jumps,” Harper said. “We just do a lot of run-throughs to really make sure our mark is accurate, but no jumping, so we don’t tire ourselves out or hurt ourselves before [the meet].”

While Harper noted that practices prepare the team well, she pointed out that there are still flaws in the system, like the variety of new responsibilities returners have this year compared to last season.

“I think right now, especially with the new coach, the system can be a little disorganized,” Harper said. “I think a lot of us, who are returners, have been really like stepping up to prepare newer people for the meets.”

After months of preparation, the track and field team now “has the opportunity to get more experience competing in a larger setting.” Still, the returners hope that newer members don’t worry about performance and instead focus on enjoying the experience.

Alix Hollingsworth (11) (James Domingues)

“I think there’s value in wanting to have a good season, but also, if you sit there the whole time stressing yourself out over how good you’re doing, you’re not going to enjoy the sport,” said Alix Hollingsworth (11), who has been a thrower for 3 years. “The fun part of it is being with the people and putting effort because you want to be there.”

Harper, being an older athlete, also shares her advice on combating pre-meet nerves.

“I think I kind of embrace [the nerves] because for track, I like nervousness and adrenaline,” Harper said. “It’s one of those things that can definitely help you improve your performance.”

Hollingsworth added that she copes by sitting down and taking time to breathe before entering the ring.

With several meets already completed and more competitions ahead, Garcia said she hopes the team continues building confidence.

“I’m really confident in [the students’] abilities, and I’m probably more confident in them than they are in themselves,” Garcia said. “I told them, we can learn something from every meet, every competition we go to, and so there’s just no way to fail. If you show up to the start line, that’s a success, and if you finished your event, that’s a success. There’s always something to learn.”

The Chargers will continue on with their season tomorrow at 3 p.m. with their dual meet at RMHS.