CENTERBURG – First-year Centerburg coach Eric Indiciani stood on the infield of the new track. Where he stood used to be just grass not that long ago.
But on Tuesday, May 4, with the threat of rain, the Trojans hosted their first track and field meet. Indiciani wore his commemorative shirt that said, “May the 4th be with you.”
“I think the fact that we’re actually able to do it is great,” he said. “With today’s weather, we were definitely concerned. Next year, (the T-shirt) was gonna say ‘Third times a charm.’”
The Trojans were supposed to host a meet last season, but it was canceled when the season was nixed because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
It’s not a complete facility yet. There is no set-up for pole vault, and the stands that were there were four rows and temporary.
“Especially the seniors, when they started off their track careers here … we didn’t have a track,” said Indiciani, who was an assistant under former coach Brandon Dodrill. “We didn’t have track. We just ran in this parking lot. We had long jump set up (at the end of the parking lot). You just ran in the parking lot and jumped into a sand pit.
“It’s really hard to practice blocks on pavement … and relay exchange zones. So having these facilities that the taxpayers paid for is amazing. The thought that went into it through our administration is top-notch stuff. We’re just so glad to have that. These kids deserve it.”
One such Centerburg senior, Ben Riegel, continued his stellar season with wins in the discus (153 feet, 7 inches) and the shot put (54-7).
“I would have liked to have had (our first meet here) last year,” he said. “But I guess it’s nice to be the first group of seniors to get to break the track in for an actual meet.”
Riegel, who also ran the 4x100-meter relay, has devoted areas where he can work on his craft.
“We used to have throwing pits down at the end where the shed is now,” he said. “When they were building this, they tore all that up. So we practiced in the parking lot for like a year and a half. We used indoor shots and threw them on the pavement. We broke so many of them.”
Centerburg’s boys team scored 90 points to beat Fredericktown (59) and Gilead Christian (6). The Trojan girls (59) finished behind the Freddies (88) and ahead of the Eagles (3).
Avery Tucker finished first in the 200-meter dash (29.48 seconds) and was part of the winning 4x400-meter relay team (4:49.08) with Abigail Dickhof, Holly Fields and Kelby Perry.
“Shin splints used to be a big problem for us because the asphalt (was) really rough,” Tucker said. “So having the facility that has a softer material to run on really helps. You can wear your spikes on this, so you can actually practice and wear them in before meets.”
Meet days without a home track rendered some unforeseen difficulties for Tucker and her Trojan teammates.
“It was really hard to run around the school — especially practicing hurdles,” Tucker said. “We would get to the meet and have to ask where’s the cut-in or hand-off. The refs would always look at us and be like, ‘You guys should know this.’
“So having a facility now just makes it a lot easier for us to practice and get in the actual distances. So I think it will push every runner to do better. And now that we’re racing here, it feels more real because now we have an actual meet.”
