The Hillcrest Hawks Track & Field team has started conditioning and preparing for a shot at the state championship this year. Practice is being held right after school, three days out of the week, in our newly obtained field house.

The Hawks practices will start in the weight room and participants should be there no later than 3:30 P.M. We will be working on strengthening our muscles and becoming more toned for the upcoming indoor season. After weight room, the runners will head to the track inside the field house to work on their running mechanics and techniques. Practice ends before 5:00 P.M. so it is quick but extremely effective at getting the runners in shape and conditioned.

Leading these workouts are Coach Keen and Coach Jay, former Hawks athletes who ran at state. They are both here to give back to the community and help the athletes reach their high school dream, competing at the state level and winning the state championship. We are taking full advantage of the indoor track in the field house this year. In the past, the runners would run up and down the hallways, getting in the way of teachers who stayed late grading papers. Practicing in the halls was not very effective; some runners would get shin splints or cramp up easier running on the concrete floor and then would just stop showing up all together. But this year there won’t be any excuses, everybody is locked in and ready to compete at the best of their ability.

The environment is very competitive, only the top two people from a team can compete in any given event, so the people with the best time in a running event or measurements in a field event can participate. On the team, we have four seniors coming back: James Edgecombe, Jamon Willams, Jevohn Maxey, and Marquis Overstreet, who have all competed at state in Charleston. All four seniors are thrilled to lead the team this year to the best of their ability.

Here’s a photo of our Boys Track team on the bus yesterday as they headed to @IHSA_IL State to compete! We hope they’re all doing their best and are excited to have them representing our school! Go Hawks! pic.twitter.com/OAyP6tYGGT

— Hillcrest High School (@HCHawkEye) May 24, 2019

All-Conference 100m Dash Champion Jamon Willams says, “I feel confident that I can get my time down to 10.3 seconds in the 100m, I have been training hard to get that.” He then goes on to say, “This year our team is pretty deep, we have lots of runners ready to compete, and my goal for the team is to win conference and state as a team overall.

When asked how are you preparing for this upcoming track season, sprinter Jevohn Maxey said, “Dedication, not giving up, and pushing through” is helping him stay mentally focused. Later when asked how would you help inspire your fellow teammates to work as hard as you, Maxey says “Being a leader and supporting my teammates, the pain is temporary so just stay on track.”

Senior Hurdler Marquis Overstreet says, “This is a big year for us to finally achieve our goal of winning state, a lot of good seniors from other teams are gone so it is our time to come up big.” Lastly Kameron Foster says he feels he will have a great season this year, “Last year I didn’t really take it seriously, but this year I’m giving it my all so I can help out my teammates.” The coaches, athletes, and staff are fired up for this track season and ready to show their Hawk Pride.

The Hawks will be hosting more than one home meets this year and would love to have some fan support this year. Come out and see seniors competing such as s sprinters James Edgecombe in the 400m, Jamon Williams in the 100m Dash, or Marquis Overstreet in the 300m Hurdles. You may also go to the field events and see Malik Coleman in high jump, Jevohn Maxey in Pole Vault, or Kameron Foster in Shot Put. 

The Hillcrest Lady Hawks Track & Field conditioning for the indoor season has also begun. The Lady Hawks are coached by Ms. Moore-Edison and meet on the track in the field house for practice. Any female who is interested in running should come out and join the Lady Hawk family.