The Forest Hills Central track and field team is gearing up for an elite 2022 season. With over one hundred athletes on the roster, the team is in for a major revitalization.

During the 2019 and 2020 seasons, FHC track and field lost many members and seasons due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The 2021 season was somewhat normal, but still had major restrictions on practices and events. This year, in 2022, athletes are back to completely normal environments, and that means new opportunities for the Rangers.

The upcoming season is full of opportunities for the Ranger track and field program to improve. The 2021 season was difficult, mainly due to the lack of players in the program. Many athletes were given three to four events per meet, and this was a significant tax on their performance. This year, however, the Rangers have over one hundred athletes that are spread out among both track and field events. This leaves many players optimistic about the future.

“We lost a lot of senior talent last year in key places, especially the sprinting core, but with a lot of returning talent in events like the 200 and 400, and even some new talent, we look to have a promising future with the primary goal of winning King of the Hills,” senior captain Jayden Savin said.

King of the Hills is a staple in the Forest Hills track and field community where Eastern, Northern, and Central meet up and face off to see who is really the “king of the hills”. Last year the girls track team took first and the boys were a close second in the pivotal event. This year, players have high hopes that FHC’s conquest will be possible through a combination of new and old talent.

In previous years, field events were the cause of struggle for Ranger teams. Again, due to a lack of numbers, many track athletes were assigned field events on top of their track duties. This made it extremely difficult for the athletes to practice and master an event. The sheer number of athletes this year makes it much more ideal for the Rangers to run the field events as well as the track events.

One of the team’s returning four-by-four runners, senior Evan Boucher, noticed this advantage.

“Our team is looking promising because a lot of the same team is returning from last year and there is a lot of potential talent to fill in any weak areas,” Evan said.

The track and field team will display its talent for the first time on March 29 at Aquinas College’s indoor track. This exclusive meet will showcase FHC’s most elite track and field athletes and will set the pace for the season. Be sure to make it out and see the Rangers dominate the track.