Boys Track hit the ground running as they begin their season.

Starting on January 28, Boys Track has been meeting for about a month, and many of the team members have already made significant progress.

Junior long-distance runner Oscar Petino said, “The season has been going really well. A lot of guys have broken their personal record, or PRed, already. I’ve already broke a PR, so I’m pretty happy. I’ve seen other lower- classmen breaking theirs. It’s something we should be doing from the start.”

Instead of competing as a single unit like basketball, the runners participate in separate events that are placed under umbrella categories such as short-distance or long- distance.

Petino said he enjoyed the independent aspect of track. “I want to beat my 4:54 mile, so I’m going to have to try on my own to beat that without the help of another person.” He added that he likes participating in different events. Because of these divisions, the runners in different categories operate on entirely different schedules. The majority of them, however, practice from Monday to Saturday with Sundays off.

After the MSL conference, they will begin having two meets a week with one on every Tuesday and Thursday. During the meets, several events are going on simultaneously.

Considering the significant time commitment, the boys must make an effort to balance their school work with running.

Petino said, “I try to get a study hall. It helps. You’ve gotta make time. You can’t do it all at once because then you’re just going to fall asleep.”

Regarding the rest of the season, Petino is optimistic for the rest of the season. He hopes to “break my mile time, see some guys reach their goals of times, be more united, and make good memories.”