Sussex Academy track off and running to start spring season

The boys and girls running, jumping and throwing for Sussex Academy this spring are off to a great start and optimistic about their chances for Henlopen South glory.

Both teams opened with wins at Indian River, as the girls claimed an 87-59 victory and the boys succeeded 88-58.

“As a team, we are really starting to build something special; everyone is sort of getting into their positions, and our program, like the habits we do every day, the warm-ups we do, the workouts we do, it's all getting much better,” senior Duncan Winger said. “With that, of course, performances will improve across our whole team and I think there's even a chance, a strong chance, for us to be Henlopen Southern Division champions in both girls and boys.”

A winning culture is something the seniors are hoping they have cultivated at the school without a track, but with a really good team.

“It takes a village to raise an athlete, and especially for those younger kids, we need to foster that culture to where, even though they're untrained ... even though they don't have much experience, they can be inspired by our seniors to reach their full potential,” senior Josue Laurore said.

The Henlopen Conference meet is the big event the girls and boys are striving to peak for.

“The Henlopen Conference Championship meet is definitely what we work toward all year,” Emma Mullen said. “There's such great competition there, so it's really fun to go and show what you got.”

Distance may be a strength for both sides, but there is optimism around the other events.

“We've always had a pretty strong distance team, but our sprinters are getting better, and we have more people coming out for that. We go over to Sandhill Fields a lot, and do 800 and 400 reps over there,” Peyton Stanislav said. “Our field events, our distance, our jumpers, our discus and our shot put throwers will be strong.”

Sussex Academy will compete alongside 11 teams in the Keith Burgess Invitational at 10 a.m., Saturday, April 12, at Lake Forest High School.