The Craig County track team took the oval for the first time this spring with a meet at Giles High School last week. The Rockets joined Auburn, Eastern Montgomery, Glenvar, Narrows and the host Spartans.
A highlight of the meet was when Rocket senior Tyler Fitzpatrick broke his previous school record in the discus with a throw of 146’11” to win the event. Freshman Kailyn Jones also had an impressive day, placing fourth in the 200m and sixth in the 400m. The sprinters were all brand new to track this year with Craig’s oldest full time member being just a sophomore.
“We do have two part time members that play baseball and soccer that had scheduling conflicts this past Wednesday,” said coach Jayke Dowdy. “Every male and female sprinter on both the high school and middle school teams, and most of our throwers, are regular attendees of football’s morning weights program which starts at 6:45 am sharp three times a week. They did well getting their feet wet, and getting a feel for this style of competition.”
The Rockets are scheduled to return to Giles for a meet this Friday. They plan to have the full sprint team for the “New River Invitational.”
“Considering we have had to practice in a parking lot most days due to the state of our track I’d say they have overcome some adversities already and are right in the thick of things,” said Peterson. “The kids affectionately refer to themselves as the ‘Trail Team’ due to the conditions they run in when we do have to use our track. We are excited that our new superintendent has proposed future renovations to our track facilities that should give physical education classes and the track team a safe place to run and facilities to be proud of. The kids will continue to improve over the next few months of the season, and will be a force in the next few years.”