After a week of rain and clouds, the weather has cleared up for the Issaquah vs Bothell Boys’ Varsity track meet. Despite track’s typically causal environment, both sides are hyped for the rematch after Issaquah’s previous win. The sprints are one of the more intense and fast paced contests, especially the hundred-meter sprint. It is also one of the first of the major events of the meet and sets the tone for the rest of the event. If Bothell wants to show they are ready to tie the score or Issaquah is ready to secure a double victory, it will start in the sprints. Eventually Issaquah was able to win the sprints, though it was a close match.

The hundred-meter sprint is exactly what it sounds like. Each team lines up some of its players to race 100 meters, and the fastest team wins, repeating until all participating athletes have gone. At first Issaquah struggles to keep up. Bothell tacks the lead in the first sprint by a wide margin. The second sprint goes well, with Issaquah and Bothell neck and neck until Bothell pulls ahead at the very end. The third race goes better as Issaquah barely manages to win, another very tight race. The fourth and fifth sprint are a win for Issaquah and Bothell, respectively. In the sixth sprint Issaquah picks up its pace with a dominating victory, but Bothell manages to bring it back in the seventh. The eighth and ninth race are both close.

Track is an incredibly important sport in Issaquah, though it has a strange place being more far reaching and causal than sports like football or baseball. Issaquah has some of the best runners in the district, and has been doing well this year, but this season has been lacking the constant domination of previous years. The bulk of the athletes participating in track are doing two sports and many are using track to maintain and improve running capabilities. Senior Mathew Fullmer says that Varsity track “helps build speed and explosiveness” for football.

Issaquah track is an important sport in Issaquah and be sure to keep track of this season to see if Issaquah is losing its edge, or just having a bad start to the season. As the weather and turnout improves, bigger matches will really start to test the Varsity track team. Only time will tell if the team is up for the challenge.