Each Second Counts: Hillsborough Track & Field Program Breaks Records and Builds Champions

Photography by: Timothy K. Mabins Jr. (@mabinsjrproductions)

After being nationally recognized as home to the one of the youngest Olympic runners, Erriyon Knighton, track and field at Hillsborough High School has become known for breaking records and winning trophies. From competing in hundred-meter dashes to pole vaulting and long jumping, our terriers do it all. And like they mention in their social media posts, they aren’t just a “team”, they’re a program full of dedicates athletes who practice year-round.  

Prior to the end of the first semester, the team’s members begin conditioning, opening these events to all athletes at Hillsborough, not just those in the Track & Field program. While these sessions typically consist of basic endurance and strength training, the coaches and athletes use this time to get in shape for the season and create a family-like environment for any students interested in joining.  

During preseason, everyone is hard at work, pushing themselves to be better before meets begin. For the girls’ team, their weekly schedule consists of warm-ups and stretches, which utilize different size hurdles, and a varying number of laps around the track, depending on the focus for the day’s training.  

“What we do usually depends on the day, like Thursdays is our hard run days, we would be out of breath because it's our hardest workout of the week. If it’s on a Friday, it’s more so mobility and foot corrections. And if it's Monday, it’s more of a moderate work out, not too hard but not too easy,” Sophomore Yadilyz Diaz said.  

Once the official season begins, students are expected to attend practice every day for two and half hours after school, and two hours in the morning on Saturdays. On Mondays the boys’ team focus on pure speed. After completing a lap around the track, the athletes then complete a set of exercises to stretch and do hurdle warmups and strides of varying pace. 

“Transitioning into our light recovery days on Tuesdays getting long runs, Wednesday we work to more perfect our forms and hone our skills. Thursdays are the longer speed training days, helping us maintain the skills we need,” Senior Jordan Harris said. 

This season the girls’ and boys’ teams have placed in the top three for numerous meets and some of the athletes have even set meet records. During the Kincaid Classic Meet at Alonso High School, Seniors Julius Brenes and Nate Brewer, alongside Juniors Jaden Carr and Bryan Harden set the fastest time for the 4x800 relay. During the same meet, Senior Oksanna Smith set the fastest time for the 400-meter hurdle race.  

Later in the year, Bryan Harden also set the school record for the 3200-meter dash with a time of 10:45.65, the fastest by any male at Hillsborough since 2005. Many of these athletes have also had the amazing opportunity to compete at a couple of colleges, such as Florida State University and the University of Florida. As the track & field program approaches the end of their season and the district, regional, and state championships, we wish them the best of luck and hope they bring home some wins in the coming weeks.