For the student athletes at White Station High School (WSHS), the track is much more than a 400 meter loop of rubber. It is a laboratory of discipline, a sanctuary of sweat, and a second home where the athlete’s values of hard work and perseverance are tested daily.
The jump from being a freshman to a seasoned upperclassman requires a massive shift in how a runner carries themselves both on and off the track. Tyrus Foster (11), who specializes in the 400-meter and 200-meter dashes, has seen his own evolution from a hesitant beginner to a confident competitor.
“Freshman year, I definitely was more lighthearted,” Foster said. “I had the same drive, but I feel like I lacked the confidence with it … Now I have that confidence that I didn’t have then.”
Developing that sense of confidence is a long process that relies on the stacking of small daily wins rather than overnight success. Foster believes that the individualized nature of the sport ensures that every ounce of effort put into practice eventually shows up on the scoreboard.
“I would definitely say that hard work does pay off,” Foster said. “I started off slower, but over the years, just stacking my progress, I started to beat people in races that were faster than me and I wouldn’t have dreamed of beating.”
A huge part of the sport is the ability to manage the immediate, heart-pounding anxiety that comes right before the starting gun. Sprinter Aubrei McKinney (11) recognizes that the mental battle is often just as taxing as the sprint, and reassures herself in order to stay focused.
“I jump a lot,” McKinney said. “I try to shake out my nerves … and mostly I’ll think to myself ‘you can do it, you got it, you got it.’ Something like that.”
While some sprinters find their way to the track through a natural burst of speed, others find their rhythm through a family history of endurance and a background in other cardio-heavy sports. Paul Cowan (11) transitioned from the soccer field to the track, finding that the solitary nature of running offered a level of personal accountability that team sports sometimes lack.
“I grew up playing soccer, but I kind of got tired of it, and then I picked up track in middle school,” Cowan said. “I stuck with track in high school, and I just love it so much more, because it’s just you, and you can’t blame anything else. It’s all on you.”
Even though Cowan appreciates the self-reliance of the sport, he is quick to point out that the team environment acts as a crucial backbone. The bond between the runners transforms the grueling practices into a shared mission, turning teammates into a support system that feels more like a family than a roster.
“I think we push each other in a good way,” Cowan said. “If we’re running shorter distances, like 400 [meter] repeats, we’ll compete against each other and see who wins the rep. We just push each other to continually get better, even though we’re running for ourselves.”
Maintaining that high level of energy throughout a long season isn’t always easy, especially when progress feels like it has stalled. Cowan notes that the true test of a track athlete is the ability to persevere through the times when success seems out of reach.
“Last season, I PR’d on my first race for the 800, and then it took me until the very end of the season to get another PR,” Cowan said. “I was having to struggle with feeling like I wasn’t racing my best.”
Facing those moments of doubt head-on is what builds the “grit” that coaches like Jimmy Beard and Coach Kevaughn Griffith look for in their athletes. For McKinney, the motivation to stay disciplined comes from the knowledge that her competition is always working just as hard to get ahead.
“Usually if I do feel tired or don’t feel like going [to practice], or I’m just sick of everything, I’ll think to myself, ‘the more you sit here and wait, the more people are gonna get faster than you,’” McKinney said. “So I try to think like that to the point where I can give 100% every time.”
The lessons learned on the track — integrity, accountability, and endurance — are designed to stick with these students long after they hang up their spikes. Foster argues that the sport forces a level of honesty with oneself that is rare in other areas of high school life.
“I would say doing the right thing when no one’s looking or without being told to is a big thing [I’ve learned from track],” Foster said. “With track, the coaches, they can give you the workouts, but if you don’t run them at your full ability … then the speed isn’t gonna come.”
With the season quickly approaching, the team is ready to see their months of preparation pay off. For any student on the fence about joining, the veteran runners suggest that the challenge is exactly what makes the experience worthwhile.
“If you like a challenge, then I encourage you to try [running track],” Foster said. “But if you feel like you’re not the type of person to hold yourself accountable, then it’s understandable if you don’t want to attempt it, because it’s not an easy thing to do.”