The new season is running up on the track and field team for the 2016/2017 season. The team is looking to continue to build upon their previous successful seasons.

In previous seasons, the Heritage track and field team has won many BVAL championships to go along with the boys 8 BVAL championship streak that is still currently being held. While the girls won 5 BVAL championships in a row before their streak was ended in 2015. Believe it or not, track and field is one of Heritage’s most successful but yet underrated programs. Runners have a many goals going into this season as well as expectations for themselves and from coaches.

“My personal goals for the season is the break the 800 M school record and to make NCS,” says Marcus Dawal (11) a distance runner for the Heritage track team. Marcus also runs the 4×400 M with Nick Young, Aaron Hanible and Dominick Littlejohn.

“My team goals for the season are to win league and to beat Liberty,” said Dawal.

There are many expectations for Heritage’s top runner Aaron Hanible as he needs to run a great season to bring in points for the track and field team; Aaron participates in the 4×100 M, 300 M, 800 M, 100M, and 4×400 M. Aaron ran at Hershey Nationals sophomore year, the Junior Olympics Junior year, and Winter State indoor his senior which has set the standards that coaches have for him.

“My goals for this season are to go to State, go to Arcadia, and to beat the school 300 M hurdles record,” said Hanible (12)

Along with the runners having expectations, so do the coaches. Coach Jackson is the head coach for the track team and he has some big expectations for this season.

“I expect us to win league and BVAL; not tie, not lose but to win the whole thing,” said Jackson.

Coach Jackson has some high expectations for some runners as well, he expects them to go to NCS, and even compete to go to state. Jackson has expectations for,

“Aaron Hanible in the 300 M hurdles, Aaron Jackson in the 400M and triple jump, the girls 4x100M team, the boys 4×4 team, and the distance runners: Jett Charvet, Logan Schaefer, Marcus Dawal, and Dominick Littlejohn.”

With all the goals, there is also friendly competition between some of the runners. Michael Greco, Gavin Palmer, and Drew Palmer, three juniors competed in the pole vault all with the similar goal of being the pole vault team captain.

“My goals are to become the best version of myself and to become pole vault team captain.” said Palmer (11).

Along with becoming pull vault captain, “My goal is to get to 12 ft 6 in on my pull vaults and to become better in all my running events,” said Michael Greco” (11).

The pole vault team captain is decided by whichever pole vaulter can get the highest on their jumps.

With a lot of expectations from coaches and runners, the track and field team has a lot of work to do but have potential to win league, go on to NCS, and even go to state.