MOUNT VERNON – The Jacket Holiday Indoor meet was exactly what Mount Vernon Athletic Director Justin Sanford had in mind during the planning stages of Energy Fieldhouse.
“It’s certainly exciting,” Sanford said. “We built it with track in mind. It was for the purpose of giving kids an opportunity while also bringing in schools from outside our facility into Mount Vernon.”
The two-day meet held Tuesday, Dec. 29, and Wednesday, Dec. 30, featured athletes from 14 teams from around the state, including Huber Heights’ Wayne and Dayton Carroll; some 115 miles away.
“It’s amazing to have this facility where our kids can just compete,” Mount Vernon track and field coach Kathy Thayer said. “We’ve heard nothing but praises from other schools today and how they wish they had something like this where they live. So we are truly blessed, and it’s something that will help (our athletes) out so much.”
Other teams were more local — like Highland, Newark, Newark Catholic and Granville.
With the COVID-19 pandemic limiting the true scope of the event, there were no spectators — only coaches, athletes and event staff.
“I use the (phrase), ‘Putting heads in beds,’ and this is a different year with COVID,” Sanford said. “But all of these coaches got a list of restaurants in town for their parents. If they drop kids off, they can go here to go shopping; they can go here to eat. That’s what we want. We want kids to come here and have the opportunity to compete, but then also visiting our businesses and our restaurants in town. So we’re excited about that.”
It gives Thayer a chance to train her athletes using the tools they’ll need during a meet.
“We used to just run in the halls and on stairs,” she said. “That was hard on their bodies. You’re running on concrete so your shins hurt, and we’d have injuries.
“Then, you’re not used to running on a track surface. We weren’t — in the past — able to practice any field events. So we’d go to a meet without any preparation. So being able to prepare ahead of time is just huge for their skill and development. We’re getting used to teaching drills and techniques and mechanics that we couldn’t do before.”
Thayer estimated between 25 and 35 athletes are participating on the indoor track and field team this winter. Indoor is not an OHSAA-sanctioned sport.
“We’re fluctuating because of COVID,” she said. “We have people that have to sit out if they’re in proximity, so it kind of fluctuates. I have a lot of kids that are in other sports right now, or else our number would be higher. They’re doing really well.”
Final results of the two-day meet weren’t tabulated by the early holiday press time.
