Graham track and field have high expectations for district meet

The road to the UIL State Track and Field Meet in Austin begins Monday in Graham. This week the Graham High School boys and girls track and field teams began the final preparations for next week’s two-day district meet. Graham girls coach Jim Walton says he is excited to see what his team does at district, especially from his talented hurdlers, junior Jasmine Sims, junior Ashley Gallaway and freshman Morgan Shook. Walton said at this point in the season, getting stronger and faster is no longer an option. At this point, coaches focus on refining techniques to get the best scores possible for each event. That mentality is vital for his team considering many of its athletes are underclassmen. “That is the key with freshmen,” Walton said. “That have the talent and freshmen girls are often as physically mature as they’re going to be their freshman year. It’s actually easier for freshmen girls to compete at the varsity level than it is for freshmen boys. That maturity factor and the experience factor are always something you have to deal with. So far, this group has shown to be competitive and mature group. Obviously, we have some growing pains, but for the most part they have shown they can handle being on the varsity. I’m sure that will carryover into the district meet, but you never know until you have been through one.” As for the boys, many of the athletes competing Monday are upperclassmen and bring with them a history of success. For the rest of this story, subscribe to our print or online edition.