Photo credit: Phoebe Casparian

Farah Sandoval (’28) holds a sign for senior Maya Acutt as she sprints by. Thursday, April 24, was Acutt’s senior celebration, where the team shared words of gratitude and love after the Gold Coast League meet at Brentwood.

From the first sound of the gunshot to the finish line, the varsity track and field team used strength, support and consistency to shape their personal and team-wide growth throughout the season.

This spring, both new and returning athletes participated in the sport, building their skills as the season progressed. Colette Wakeford (’28) and Kylie Tan (’27) were both new to track and field. They recalled overcoming obstacles with the support of their teammates and learning to grow from their areas of difficulty.

Team captain Maya Acutt (’25) has been on the track team since her freshman year. Acutt said that, despite a rocky start, her experience on the cross country and track and field team has been a core memory from her time at Archer. This season, she mentored new and returning track runners.

The Oracle sat down with Acutt, Wakeford and Tan to discuss their journeys as student-athletes and how their experiences in track and field impacted them.

What does being a part of the track team mean to you?

Colette Wakeford [CW]: You’re all there to support each other and give each other high fives at the end of your race. I think it’s rewarding and really important when you’ve done a good thing for your team, and you’ve shown up and supported each other.

Kylie Tan [KT]: At my first meet, I really didn’t even know what to expect. And I didn’t finish first, but I did finish, and that was a good accomplishment for me. I think just really getting that support, and just my teammates supporting me, helped. I think the support from others is important because it helped me realize that I’m really a part of this team, everyone is there to support me, no matter what my skill is.

Maya Acutt [MA]: I think that being the person with the most experience on the team really contributes to [team morale]. But also, track and field can be pretty difficult if you don’t have a positive mindset, so keeping team morale up. Especially at hard practices, making sure that we’re all laughing and having fun during warm-ups or even during the workouts, chatting with teammates during our breaks and our cooldowns, asking how their days are, is very important.

How has being part of the team shaped your overall track experience?

[CW]: You have to be very committed and show up every day to practice to get better and succeed in the meets, especially being in the Gold Coast League, which is a little more difficult.

[KT]: I definitely think the community for any type of sport is the best part. I’ve been able to make friends in a lot of other grades, which I feel, normally, just going to your school, you wouldn’t be able to do. Coming together, practicing and going through some hard stuff really makes you bond.

What are you most proud of this season?

[CW]: My second meet was probably my biggest accomplishment, because I [set a personal record] in the second meet, and I won my heats. So after that, I was put in these higher heats, and I was still placing pretty well in them.

[KT]: I think that because I’m new to running, it can be difficult to keep going, as sometimes it’s really tiring. I feel that during the meets, getting over the exhaustion and really pushing through to finish is important. It’s an individual sport, but also a team sport. I think for me, just reaching that finish line and feeling a sense of accomplishment is really important.

[MA]: I think that this year, personally, was a good year for me. I feel like I made gains that I made in past years, and I’m really proud of myself for the progress that I made throughout this year. I’m really proud of my team also, because a lot of people who had never done track before were really, really improving and really showing their strength towards the end of the season.

How has track impacted you personally and what difficulties have you overcome?

[CW]: I think the physical challenges, the running itself and getting into shape, were probably the most difficult parts. I don’t usually run four times a week, so going into the track season and running every day was a little difficult on my body and my mental state.

[KT]: For me, it was definitely a rough start. I’ve done other sports before, but they’re definitely not nothing like track. Even though I practiced on my own, I didn’t really know what to expect. But then as I practiced more, the better I got, the more I liked the sport. I was determined to become better. So basically, just pushing through the pain to get better.

[MA]: I’m really proud of myself in ninth grade for pushing through and for continuing to do track, because it really has been a core part of my Archer experience. And I don’t know where I would be as a student or as a person, holistically, without it. It’s really taught me a lot about dedication and commitment and going to practice, even if I don’t want to, and pushing through the pain.