The Timber Creek High School Track team has been eagerly preparing for the season since the first day of school. Now that the season is here, the athletes are working harder than ever. With an upcoming practice meet after school on Thursday, Feb. 9, the team has been training after hours to take their skills to the next level. The first district track meet will be at the Timber Creek Track, on Saturday, Feb. 18.
Senior and hurdler, Kristina Dargan, along with many of her teammates, are thrilled for the season to start. “I think that a lot of us have been working hard individually and I’m excited to see the team compete together,” said Dargan. “We have strong people that have been working hard this past year. I think we have a strong chance of going to state.”
Like the athletes, track and field coaches are pumped for the season, one of them being the high jump coach, Coach Dan Strong. “I am extremely excited for the season,” said Strong, “We have worked harder this offseason than we have in any preseason I can remember.”
| Meet | Date | Time | Location |
| Practice Meet and Time Trials | Thursday, Feb. 9 | 4:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m. | Timber Creek |
| Falcon Fast Invitational | Saturday, Feb. 18 | 8:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. | Timber Creek |
| Haltom Relays | Thursday, Feb. 23 | 4:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m. | Old Birdville Stadium, Haltom City |
| Northwest Texan Relays | Friday, Mar. 3 | 8:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. | Texan Stadium |
| Bubba Joiner Invite | Friday, Mar. 10 | 5:00 p.m. – 10:00 p.m. | Liberty Christian School, Argylel |
| Southlake Distance Festival | Saturday, Mar. 18 | 5:00 p.m. – 10:00 p.m. | Carroll Middle School |
| Chisholm Trail Relays | Saturday, Mar. 25 | TBA | Chisholm Trail High School |
| Fossil Ridge Relays | Friday, Mar. 31 | 4:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m. | Fossil Ridge High School |
| *Texas Relays | Friday/Saturday, Mar. 31 – Apr. 1 | TBA | University of Texas, Austin |
| District Championships | Wednesday, Apr. 5 – 6 | TBA | Weatherford Kangaroo Stadium |
| *Area Championships | Thursday, Apr. 20 | All day | Keller Stadium |
| *Regional Championships | Friday/Saturday, Apr. 28-29 | TBA | University of Texas, Arlington |
| *State Championships | Friday/Saturday, May 12 – 13 | TBA | University of Texas, Austin |
*= Varsity only competition which require qualifying times, distances, heights, or places.
Along with Strong, coaches Chris Simmons, Lonnie Judd, Chuck Fongsamouth, Tim Thomas, Stephan Ritchie and Rickey Bradley are all training athletes to excel in their respective track and field events. The coaches meet up with the students everyday after school for practice. Depending on the event, practices end from 4:30 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. The team consists of a variety of athletes from sports all over the school, and even some that weren’t participating in any sports his year. The team comes together during school practices, as well as outside of school, to do additional workouts and team building activities.
“Track and Field teaches kids how to take responsibility for their own actions and performances. In other sports there is always another teammate who can become a scapegoat for another athlete’s performance, but track doesn’t allow that to happen,” commented Strong, “In track, kids learn to work as hard as they can and be responsible for their own actions. When kids are able to do those two things, they can find satisfaction in their work regardless of the outcome in the meets. I coach because I love being part of those satisfying moments. I coach to try to get the kids to apply that same outlook to other aspects of their lives.”