Boys’ and girls’ varsity track teams have been breaking records at invitationals this season, all while preparing for the district meet on April 12 and 13.

    “The Texas Distance Festival was a really cool meet since it is a meet exclusively for distance runners,” senior Sophie Liles said.

    Liles placed fourth in the emerging elite 5k with a 35 second personal record. Other notable results include senior Steffi Jones placing first in the 800m with a two second personal record.

     The girls’ team has a lot of younger girls this year, and Liles said it is great to see them getting the hang of things and doing well.

    At the Russ Schuler Invitational, girls’ varsity placed first overall and boys’ varsity placed second, behind Plano East. The teams are hoping to do well at the upcoming district meet. Allen is considered one of Plano’s biggest rivals in regards to track.

    “The district meet is mid-April. Everyone competes at districts, but only the varsity runners can move on to area. After area is region, then state,” Liles said.

    Track was redistricted for this current season. This year, boys’ and girls’ teams compete against McKinney Boyd, McKinney High, Plano East and West, Wylie and Denton Guyer. However, they no longer have to compete against Marcus, Hebron or Flowermound.

    Liles placed second as an individual runner for the 3200m at the Ron McNeill Invitational. Halfway through the season junior Kennedy Blackmon broke the 1999 school record for the 400m.  Senior Alex Headley broke the discus record with a distance of 1084 feet.

    Coach Tim Eshleman said boys’ varsity has also been doing well in this season. He predicts that senior hurdler Charles Brockman will be very successful in upcoming meets. He runs the 100m and the 300m hurdles.

    “Charles is one of the best hurdlers in the nation, and he will keep advancing,” Eshleman said.

    The competitive nature of track means that there is always room for improvement, according to Eshleman. He wants to improve the varsity boys in relays for upcoming meets and districts.

   “You just hope everyone does their best at districts,” Eshleman said.

   The state meet is May 13 and both boys’ and girls’ hope to advance as many individuals as far as possible. However, it is highly competitive and usually only elite runners advance to state, according to Eshleman.

    “As our first year in a new district, we are not sure how it will all play out, but our goal is to get someone to state,” Liles said.