Photo by Brennan Lotz

[File Photo] Toby Eaton, 11, Places first in the 2400 at the Lakeridge Invitational Track Meet.

After sitting in the cold stands for six hours, finally the runners were on the field, ready to race. He receives the baton from his teammate and takes off hearing nothing but his own footsteps, no one is around him. It is just him against the clock. 

Track kicked off their first 6A season at the Duncanville Relays. Junior Toby Eaton and his teammates dominated the distance medley relay, breaking the school record, and qualified for the Texas Relays at the University of Texas further in the season with a time of 10:52.72. 

“During the race, I was telling myself to stay composed. Not get off my game, because I knew that running alone, with no one to compete against, was not going to be easy,” Eaton said. “I knew that running a fast time would have been just as good as finishing first for me and my teammates.”

Legacy took gold in each Distance Relay bracket. Boys and girls led the races with no hesitation. Girls and distance track coach Jeffrey Lindsey prepared the team, building a foundation during cross-country season.

“We had a full cross-country season, and have worked hard since then. The team has not really thought about the difference between 5A to 6A,” Coach Lindsey said. “We haven’t treated it any differently because I am confident in the runners that we have. We haven’t changed anything to previous seasons. We will just continue to focus on getting better every practice and every meet.”

Sprint Medley boys placed 4th overall and girls placed 6th. Senior Jaidyn Robinson feels confident to head into the 6A division. 

“I love these fun types of meets because I am able to race with different teammates and meet new people,” Robertson said, “and now I know where I am training-wise. I know what I need to work on in the future, and I plan to just focus on that and continue to keep working hard. I push myself to not have any self-doubt.”

This season is the boy’s head track coach Detrion Taylor’s second season at legacy. He has prepared his athletes through the duration of the offseason.

“This meet was an opportunity to see what everybody has to offer, and now we can get them on the right track for this season. With it being my second year, I know I need to implement patience, and give the kids time to get skills and get comfortable with different styles,” Coach Taylor said. “The season is looking promising. It’s going to be challenging, but I think we have some competitors, and as the weeks go by I think we’ll gain confidence.”

The track team has seven meets to prepare them for the District Championships in April. Both Coaches are confident in the results of this meet and prepared to use them as a foundation for the upcoming season. Eaton is looking forward to the rest of the season. 

“This meet was definitely a confidence booster. We wanted to go in and break the school record, run good times and that is what we did,” Eaton said. “We will continue to build on this momentum, stay confident and continue to believe in ourselves and each other for this upcoming season.”