As the sights starts to change from barren trees to green sprouts, the track and field season starts up once again. Whether it’s someone running along the side of the road from the school or people throwing shot put in the area between the middle school and high school, the warm weather signals the start of this sport season for many.

Without a track and field to use, what is the team supposed to do? As the stadium does not meet WPIAL standards, Freedom is unable to hold home track meets until the stadium complies with WPIAL standards. With the upcoming renovations on the football stadium, track and field meets will soon be able to be held at Freedom once again.

With the start of every season, the same theme always reoccurs: senior all-stars are lost to graduation, but freshman come to one day fill their shoes. With track and field, this is no exception.

“If I can do anything with track, I hope that I can make states next year; that’s currently my goal. People on my team like Adam Hessler are big inspirations to me, and I hope that I can do as good as people like him in meets,” freshman Jacob Harp said.

On March 15, the team was planned to have their first scrimmage in order to prepare for the upcoming season. However, with only a high of 40 F, this was too cold for the meet to be held, and as such, it had to be cancelled.

“I believe that it being so cold now might have an effect on the first few meets that the team has for the season,” senior Camron Forsythe said, “Once we get further into the season, I think that we will be doing just fine.”

On the following Tuesday, March 19, the team had their first scrimmage at Beaver. Though the scrimmage was only against Beaver, athletes from Rochester and Western Beaver were also present at the scrimmage. Though the meet was originally planned for March 20, the meet was moved up a day in order to have warmer weather. With a high of 50 F, it was warmer than when the last meet was supposed to be, and especially warmer than the 38 F with snow the following day, when the meet was originally planned. Held at Beaver High School, many of the Freedom athletes considered this to be good practice for future meets.

“Even though this was a scrimmage, I felt like I did good. It being cold while the season starts has certainly been a drawback, but I’ve managed to work through it. I made the time that I was aiming for, and I was happy with that. Even though I did good this time, I know I can do better next time,” freshman Bailey Roberts said.

With the season beginning, hopes are high for both the boys and girls track and field seasons. With a warm-up not far from sight, the track and field teams plan on having a successful season once again.