Sports Feature: Track and Field by: Katie Caudle

The Hardin-Simmons University track team is composed of hardworking students who are proficient at running, jumping and throwing events, but what may most set them apart even more is the way they encourage and support each other.

“My favorite part of being on the track team here at HSU is the support and encouragement that I get from my coach,” Janae Green, a senior nursing major from Sunnyvale, who jumps for the track and field team, said. “This team has truly given me a purpose and some of my best friends.”

The track team is a connected community of athletes who encourage each other. Even though they may all be participating in different events and are very different people, they continue to support each other's progress both in and out of their sport. HSU’s track team is good at several things, but most importantly, in building up a loving, God-centered community. 

“They love the Lord, and they love each other,” Halle Bruntmeyer, a sophomore mechanical engineering major from Abilene, and a thrower for the HSU track and field team, said. “They are always pushing one another to do their best, throw farther, jump higher and run faster for longer. They are always encouraging one another, believing in each other and not only nurturing the athlete next to them but blessing the child of God beside them.”

There is a lot of variety in track and field with different people specializing in different events. Every single person on the track and field  team is able to find something unique where they can achieve success. This environment allows many different people to connect and creates a fun and challenging space for the athletes, even those who watch the sport can tell the passion that the students have for their sport and each other. 

Any students who are interested in HSU track and field are invited to come to events and meets, as there are several that are held right here in Abilene. Please go to https://hsuathletics.com/sports/womens-track-and-field/schedule for a complete schedule of meets.

“Running is not a punishment; it is a tool to be used to better yourself and become more disciplined,” Aiden Seekins, a sophomore from Abilene and a distance runner on the HSU track team, said. “So go for a run, it'll make you feel better.”

The track team’s next meet will be the Corky/Crofoot Shootout at Texas Tech University on May 2-3.