By Susan Carroll
Review Writer
The Lake Orion High School varsity girls track team is a young team, consisting of many freshman and sophomores, some that have never participated in the sport before, not even at the middle school level.
While speaking with Coach Dave Hutson, one can hear the enthusiasm in his voice towards his athletes: “It’s a young team, with a lot of talent.”
So what intrigues kids to join the track team if they have never done it before? Hutson says, “track is a social sport, they see their friends loving it and they say, my friends are doing it and I want to do it too.”
Track is unique, unlike most other sports, it gives the athletes time to interact during practice and competitions because of the down- time between events,
Kids also transition into track at the advice of other coaches. For example, a coach sees the speed of an athlete and then suggests that they give track a try.
Coach Hutson has been coaching now for 24 years. He started out in Texas and eventually found his way to Rochester College where he coached until he became the LO girls track coach in 2013. Hutson is currently a professor at Rochester College, teaching sports management.
Last Wednesday’s meet was tougher than coach Hutson thought it would be.
“Rochester High Schools’ coaches did a great job being creative with setting their line-up and matching up their team with ours. One way they did this was by spreading out their middle and distance runners,” Hutson said.
Nonetheless, LOHS won the meet with a final score of 72-56.
Senior Taylor Eaton won both the shot put and discus, and senior Margaret Hastings took first place in the 800-meter run.
New to the team this year is sophomore Madison Eaton, who is a “phenomenal, broad-spectrum athlete” said Hutson. “She just keeps improving and excels at whatever event is thrown her way. During Wednesday’s match, she won the 300-meter hurdles and 200-meter dash.”
Colleen Campbelll, a junior, is a “solid jump specialist,” excelling in the jumping events of pole vault, high jump and long jump; while Allison Sherman, “can successfully run anything from the 800 to 3,200 meters.”
The team’s biggest competition this year will be Clarkston and Rochester Adams. Hutson is going to approach them with creative line ups, hoping to upset their teams.
Hutson said his end goal is to get as many athletes to the state meet as he can.
The ladies next meet is 4:30 p.m. today at LOHS against Clarkston.
On Saturday, the team competes at the Oxford Invite at Oxford High School at 10 a.m.