By Seth Morton, Staff Writer

This year marks coach Ryan Solomon’s second year leading the men’s and women’s track teams at Reynolds High School. This season, he plans to help each team hit its stride and cap off a good senior year for many of the Demons.

Last year for the men, the team finished in last place in the Central Piedmont 4-A Conference, with most of the points generated by the distance runners. Solomon said that this season he will focus much more on “trying to build the sprints and jump sides of the team. That way, we have the best opportunity to score in all the events, not just distance.”

Although some of the problems the team faced last year had to do with leadership issues, a lot of it came down to stretching and keeping loose before races to prevent injuries.

“Last year we had a lot of nagging injuries because of poor warmup,” Solomon said.

The men’s track team will also be hitting the weight room at least twice a week to facilitate getting the athletes’ bodies in top shape — a new emphasis compared to last year.

Some key returning athletes  include seniors Josephus Mitchell, Terry Hines and Twone Daniels in the sprints and jumps. Senior Eric Royer and junior Dustin Sneed lead the distance side of the team. Freshman Aaron Cooper is a newcomer to the men’s track team . He recorded a 5:06 mile time in middle school, and Solomon plans to try him out in the mile and 800-meter races.

The biggest event this year for the Demons will be the conference meet, which will be held at Mount Tabor on May 1. Everyone is preparing and making changes that will increase the chances of a better finish this year.

Returning runners on the women’s track team include senior Anna Caudill, who is RJR’s record holder for the triple jump, and is very talented in other aspects of track as well, most notably the 400 meters. Senior Chandler Borton is also returning from last year with quite a track record: She holds the school record in the mile and the two mile. Last year, she was the conference champion in the 800 meter and the runner-up in the mile, helping the Demons place fourth at the league meet.

A notable newcomer to the girls’ team is freshman Latrease Golden. Solomon praised her as an athlete who never complains and does everything she’s asked to do. She excels in the sprints. Solomon is looking forward to seeing how her high school track career will pan out.

Solomon is extremely excited about this year and the changes the team is making to better prepare the athletes. But Solomon said the biggest factor of all is something people may not expect: having fun.

“Something that we’re trying to do better this year is just to have fun with it,” Solomon said.