The line of sprinters is ready for the boom of the starting gun.  In the eight lanes, junior, junior, senior, senior, junior, senior, senior, junior…freshman?

This year, CHS indoor track and field has an exceptionally high number of underclassmen racing for spots on the varsity team.

“We had a lot of kids from fall sports which was significant, and this is not always the case,” head coach Scott Silverstein said.  “The number of new comers was particularly huge, and our senior class is particularly small.”

The Bulldogs did not have a very powerful senior class last year, so the team is happy to get many underclassmen who can fill in the gaps and be trained to be even more influential.

“There are a large amount of talented freshman that will contribute a lot to the team while making it really fun and sociable,” freshman Becca Clem said.

Many of the underclassmen were on varsity fall sports, such as football, soccer, and volleyball, which will help the team because of their athleticism.

“If they’re an athlete, you can teach them track and field,” Silverstein said.

A few of the freshmen are stand- outs in their potential to be great runners.  On the girl’s side, freshmen Tara Rhodes and Jocelyn Kelly have potential to be successful sprinters due to their extreme athleticism.  On the guy’s side, Jaylen Hill, a freshman from North Carolina, will be one of the best freshmen in the state because of his stellar transfer record.

“Our 4×8 is looking to qualify for some big meets and to place at states again, so there is a possibility for some new freshmen to make an impact on that relay team,” junior captain Lucy Srour said.

Many of the underclassmen who are coming from fall sports hope to improve during this season.  Indoor track helps to keep the athletes in shape during the off-season for many fall sport athletes.

“I joined track to stay in shape, increase my speed and learn good running form and technique,” Rhodes said.

Not only do the underclassmen bring potential and athleticism to the team, they also have a fiery spirit to work hard and succeed, according to senior captain Jackie Dosik.

“We’ve done a lot of run outs and workouts with them, and they work really hard,” Dosik said.  “It pushes the upperclassmen to work harder as well and to push each other.”

Although the Bulldogs have a lot of lowerclassmen joining the team, star runners Srour, who scored all 22 of the girls team’s points last year, and senior captain Emma Coleman will be returning.  Star distance runner junior David Fitzgerald took a break from running to play on CHS ice hockey, leaving the team with a top spot to fill.

“I think this is the most athletic bunch we’ve had for years,” Silverstein said.  “It’s going to be huge.”