He relaxes and takes deep breaths as he approaches the starting line. Thinking back to his practices and translating the skills he learned into the next race. On your mark. Get set. Go.
Senior Alex Baird’s love for track and field started in sixth grade after watching countless track meets on TV. He ran a mock track meet in junior high and discovered he enjoyed the sport.
Baird said a lot of time goes into training for his events. He practices 15-18 hours throughout the school week and works individually on the weekends for about three hours. Baird said repetition plays a big part in improving his skills.
“It’s continuing to do the same drills until I reach the point of perfection,” he said.
Last year at the 5A State Track and Field meet, Baird took sixth place in the 300-meter hurdles.
“It was the final race at State, and the atmosphere was just insane,” he said. “It was nerve-wracking.”
Baird is currently ranked in the top five in the state in the 300-meter hurdles.
“I’m projecting myself to be in the top three in the state in the 300-meter hurdles, and I’m hoping to medal in more than one event,” he said. “As a whole, this is the best looking team I’ve seen in my three years of running.”
Baird will run track and play football next year at Baker University.
“At first, I was just running track in college,” he said. “But I fell in love with football this year. I think it was because I had never really experienced it on the varsity level. I entered high school planning to run track in college, but after football this year, it was hard to choose between the two. So I just chose both.”
Baird said he is looking forward to the next level of competition in both of his athletic careers.
“I’m excited to see what the college level has to offer,” he said. “I want to see how I match up with everyone.”