By Spencer Inglett ’19
THE ROUNDUP
The Brophy track & field team, led by head coach Mr. Bill Kalkman, is looking to dethrone defending champion Desert Vista after a fifth place finish in the state meet last May.
With many contending squads this year such as Chandler, Highland, and Desert Vista, Mr. Kalkman said that the distance team is the greatest strength.
Drew Burns ’18, who is running the 1600m and the 3200m events, has witnessed a change in culture throughout his time involved with the sport.
“Over my four years of being a part of Brophy track and field, I have seen that we as a whole team have grown closer to each other on a more personal level,” said Burns. “My freshman year, the sprints, throws, jumps and distance guys would all do their own thing with their respective groups and I feel like that culture has changed.”
Burns also said that a mutual respect has grown within the team, along with constant support in and out of practice and meets.
“I believe that [Carson] Kurtz for pole vault, [Michael] Beram for pole vault, [Cole] Macias for shot put, and [Elisha] Brooks for 300m hurdles will perform exceptionally well in their separate events,” Burns said.
Eric Lin ’19, another runner who is also participating in both the 1600m and 3200m races, said he prepared year round for the upcoming season and aspires to make it to the state meet.
“During the off-season, I ran probably five to six times a week for about six to ten miles a day at 7:30 pace or slower,” said Lin. “In the winter, distance runners generally try to build up some slow base mileage to recruit slow-twitch muscle fibers and maintain fitness, so that’s what I was aiming for.”
Mr. Kalkman said that Drew Burns and Grant Smith ’18 are leaders for the distance team.
With the Brophy A.M.D.G. Invitational on March 9th, the team hopes to carry the momentum from its previous meets to see the competition.
Other notable meets include the Chandler Rotary Invitational on March 24th and the Arcadia Invitational in Los Angeles, CA on April 7th.
Burns said that our team will do big things this season.