The year of 2017 really has been a great year for Wheat Ridge track and field with team members placing in the top three of their races:

Senior Emily Gallegos-Francksen set a new record of 2:17.31 on the 800m at the Dakota Ridge Invitational.

Sophomore Tiya Chamberlin earned 3rd place on the 1600m run at the Dakota Ridge Invitational and 1st on the 3200m run during the 4A Jeffco League Relay Meets, senior Amy Leasure wasn’t far behind, coming in at 2nd place.

The Girl’s Relay Team came in 1st place in the 4×100 Meter Relay Race and the Distance Medley Relay during the 4A Jeffco League Relay Meets.

The track and field team has truly outperformed themselves this year, exceeding all expectations tremendously, and more than that, Track and Field has continued to provide a platform for students to keep fit and healthy.

Drew Seidel, a junior at Wheat Ridge High School and member of the track and field team draws inspiration from track and field, “Having an athletic outlet that I enjoy helps me stay focused in school to keep my grades up.”

Seidel also had a few words for anyone out there considering joining track: “It’s a wonderful sport, you can sprint, you can do hurdles, you can throw -It’s for all types of people… If you’re not in athletics to some degree already, I would encourage pretty much everybody to get involved in something, because it just is so nice to have that balance in your life of getting out and doing things to balance out with academics and whatever else you may do.”

There’s no doubt that the students in track have delivered more than expected this year; however, you still need to give credit where credit is due.

Head coaches Scott and Judy Chamberlin have done so much to make sure their students are constantly improving and constantly focused, “You have to try to learn to win from the front, the back, left, and right.” Scott Chamberlin stated as his students relentlessly ran lap after lap around the track, “You have to learn to try to compete well, whether you’re in the front or behind, whether the competition is tough or isn’t tough, so that experience just grows you as an athlete”.

The most fulfilling part of Scott’s job is working with the kids, “Even the kids that are kinda new and afraid, just watching them grow, helping them improve. Working with the kids is always the single thing I like the most.”

The coach’s attitude lives through the track team and the students within it, inspiring them to achieve better scores and take bigger steps, not only in track, but in life.