“You are not going to run fast if you are not strong,” he said. “You aren’t going to run fast for a long period of time if you don’t have that endurance. It all is like a big puzzle. All of the pieces have to come together at the right time.”
Freshman sprinters Joshua Ford and Jamie Brown have set high goals for themselves. Ford wants to represent the Mustangs at the state level while Brown is working to earn a track scholarship and aspires to be an Olympian. Ford said he works out “all the time” to prepare himself for the season ahead, while Brown said she’s been working out at a recreation center, practicing sprints and stretching to protect her muscles.
Last year, the girls won their fourth straight district and area championships, while the boys went to regional and competed well, Linscomb said.
Looking to this season, he said, “I’m looking for both groups to be significantly better. The boys group is young; we graduated some seniors. Because they are young, they are fast. Our varsity is made up of a lot of freshman and sophomores with some seniors mixed in.”
On the girls side of the team, Linscomb said, “I think the sky is the limit. We returned pretty much everybody from last year. We have several new young ladies who will make an impact. We will be really deep.”
Linscomb spoke to his team’s strengths.
“Our sprint and relay groups will carry us,” he said. “This group of ladies has a chance to set school records in the 4X1 and 4X2 (4X100 meters relay and 4X200 meters relays, respectively). We have a really good ladies hurdle group, with one of the ladies already signing with Texas A&M Commerce; she is really good. I really feel she will set records in the 300 hurdles.”
He also expects the boys to do well.
“We have a young man who is a returning junior that was a regional qualifier in hurdles last year,” he said. “We always have a good hurdles program.”
Senior Kayden Jenkins has been a part of the Life track program all four years and said he’s looking forward to being part of a college track program. At Life, he’s run the 400 and competed in discus and high jump.
“My record is 5-foot, 10-inches,” he said. “My goal this year is 6 foot, which I will most definitely make.”
Fellow senior Chaniqua Tonge says she feels “quite amazing” in her last year as a Life track team member but also a bit sad.
“I’ve spent a good amount of my time here with the team, building a bond with the players,” she said. “I was a little nervous as an incoming freshman, but the upperclassmen helped me build confidence. Graduating this year, I want to help the new freshmen feel welcome and urge them to be their best.”
Linscomb said he expects a good season ahead.
“We will be better this year than last and hopefully set many records,” he said.
