Rising stars, new sports campus have team looking ahead to bright future

By Julian De Ocampo ’13
THE ROUNDUP

With a new sports campus on hand and myriad new and rising athletes, this season is looking bright for the Brophy track team.

“In track, you are presented with a personal challenge to work hard, become the best you possibly can at your event, and you get to train with the support of your team,” said head track coach Mr. Bill Kalkman.

The coaches were quick to point out that track is the only co-ed sport at Brophy.

“It’s one of the few sports where men and women compete equally on the same athletic field,” said assistant track coach Mr. Mike Welty ’83.

“I think that makes it a really exciting sport for teenagers to participate in because you get to be in a co-ed environment, which is rare here at Brophy,” Mr. Welty added.

The boys and girls on the track team can be seen practicing on the new Brophy Sports Campus, which opened last April to the excitement of many athletes.

“It will be such a luxury now to be able to open a season from beginning to end, wire to wire, in our own facility where we can control the pace, and we have world-class facilities to work in,” Mr. Welty said.

The team had previously been practicing at Central High School.

While the team is determined to use the new facilities to reach their peak competitive potential, the coaches didn’t shy away from discussing the enjoyable nature of the sport.

“It’s a laid-back sport. You get involved, you get in shape, you work hard for the school, and ultimately it’s just a lot of fun,” said long-distance running coach Mr. Steve Smith ’96.

With a set of new freshmen and rising stars, many on the team are anticipating a strong season.

“We lost a couple key guys, but we have some good freshmen coming up,” said D’Amani Grayer ’13. “Our juniors and seniors this year, I think, will be really good.”

Devon Allen ’13, who performs in a variety of events, set school records last year for the 100-meter and the 200-meter events, also placing third in state for the 100-meter and fifth in the 200-meter event. Allen is also returning this year with high expectations.

“I’m going to try and win state individually,” Allen said. “I think if we keep going at this rate, we can win state as a team.”