“I most certainly plan to break a record,” said senior middle distance runner Lucas Prillaman. “We are a small team, but we push each other, and it’s a great group to work with.”
With a roster of only 18 on each of the men’s and women’s indoor track teams, Guilford College does not have a sizable team. With so few people, the group has become as close as a family, a term that senior sprinter and jumper Yashua Clemons and junior sprinter Josephus Mitchell both used to describe the team.
“We run it like a family,” said assistant cross country track and field coach Kimberly Cash. “We have a team mentality with the ability to work individually.”
“(Because of this) we have a lot of successes, and a lot of personal records are coming in.”
The indoor track season began this past December and the final meet is May 28. The season will transition from indoor track to outdoor track on Friday, March 11.
Head coach Danny Cash and assistant coach Kimberly Cash are leading the men’s and women’s teams. They have nearly 20 events throughout their season, meaning that they must train daily.
“We have three training groups,” said Prillaman. “There are the short, middle and long distance groups. Middle-distance runners workout at the American Hebrew Academy, warming up with a two-mile jog there, then sprints and distance on the track and finally a stretch and a two mile jog back to campus.”
The indoor track team keeps their exercise regimen going throughout the season in order to stay light on their toes.
“We have a practice every single day for an hour and a half,” said junior shot put thrower Becca Benfield. “You’re working with your teammates to progress yourself for the betterment of the team.”
In order for this small team to win at events, the entire team must be well-conditioned and prepared. Each team member must bring their individual talents to the table.
“Coach Cash told me I was going to be a sprinter,” said Prillaman. “I started off running the 400 meter around 54 seconds … I plan (on) getting that down below 50 seconds by the end of the year.”
“That would set a new school record.”
Prillaman is not the only individual working to break school records this year.
In fact, one of the current 400-meter runners, Trent Evans, has already broken the school record for the 400-meter event with a time of 49.59 seconds.
“It’s an accomplishment that took me by surprise because it’s not something done often,” said senior middle distance runner Trent Evans.
Though nearly everyone on the teams have individual goals, they must still stay dedicated and focused on their main goal as a team: doing well in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference.
“We are in the process of meeting our goals as a team,” said Evans. “It’s times like these where teamwork and cooperation are really high because everyone is trying to motivate and push each other.”
With the ODAC championship meet coming up on Feb. 28, the teams have lots of hard work ahead with limited time for practice.
“The Guilford College men overall have a very balanced team,” said sophomore middle distance runner Caleb Anderson. “With Alex (Martin) and Sephus (Josephus Mitchell) leading sprints, Trent (Evans) pushing all us mids a little harder and Nick (Reynolds) setting a good example for long distance. For the ladies, there (are) good prospects at sprints and mids, and with Rebecca (Reyna) being an awesome runner at any level, they have very good leadership.
“Ultimately, it all comes down to the event and how much harder we work than other ODAC teams in practice.
“We’ll find out how we stack up in a few weeks,” said Anderson.
If you want to check out the indoor track team’s next meet, it is Saturday, Feb. 20, at JDL Fast Track in Winston-Salem.
