RHS Track and Fieldnotes

After a messy winter weather season for off-season conditioning, we are back in action at the Tiernan Center. This week, the weather looks to be up and down. Athletes should always pack clothing for both indoor and outdoor practice in order to be ready for anything.

What are we looking forward to this season?

First and foremost, we are looking forward to the redevelopment of our track and field facilities. While we will not reap the benefits this season, the school board officially approved a bid for resurfacing the track and rebuilding all of our field facilities to better align with modern safety standards and top-level facilities around us. I hope to be able to share a mock-up of what's coming this summer in a future newsletter!

Our girls team is the North Central Conference defending champions, and these athletes will look to maintain their title at this year's NCC meet. In the meantime, our boys program continues to rise, and they look to earn a title of their own.

After a successful junior season, Jacob Lindahl is looking to repeat his visits to Hoosier State Relays State Indoor Finals and the IHSAA State meet. Good things are coming from our throwers!

The distance boys are fresh off an IHSAA cross country Sectional victory this past fall and are ready to score some points in the spring. The girls continue to build back up, and I think the gains made in the off-season will surprise some other teams! I'm excited to see where their hard work takes them.

On the sprint team, KK Hogg aims to lead the girls in scoring. She walked away from the Sectional with four blue ribbons last year and is looking to repeat. With major points graduating in distance, the team is looking for new places to score, and finding those points will be the story of the season for the girls as a team.

A cohort of 18 members from the Richmond High School Special Olympics Polar Plunge team took to the icy waters of Middlefork Reservoir on Saturday, February 21st in order to raise money and awareness for Special Olympics Indiana. As part of the Richmond High School team, these eight kids helped contribute to the over $4000 raised for Special Olympics in Wayne County, which led Richmond High School to a first-place finish in all of the county teams. And yes, Coach Lambright dressed as an ear of corn after donors matched his challenge of raising at least $200. He was told there was going to be a costume contest. There wasn't.

Thank you to Brady, Alissa, Cale, Jenna, Jacob, Ella, Gavin, and Trevin for participating!

After a multi-year hiatus, RHS Track and Field is proud to revive the Hard Hat Award, an award dedicated to recognizing athletes who embody hard work, clear communication, and good character. While the award can go to top performers, it is aimed at recognizing the character of a true Red Devil. Gavin Belanga, a shot put thrower in his second year with the team, was a clear-cut winner. His leadership, communication skills, and willingness to help are exactly the kinds of traits a Hard Hat Winner should have. Congrats, Gavin!

Who will sign the hard hat next? And who will take home the hard hat at the end of the season? Put in the work and it could be you!

Congratulations to the track athletes who are being inducted into the National Honor Society at Tuesday's induction ceremony. At practice on Monday, I gave out incorrect information. While an excused absence prevents you from participating in athletics (practices and competitions alike), it does not prevent students from coming to after-school events. I did not realize the IHSAA standard in athletics was higher than the general school standard.

Regardless, athletes who miss Tuesday's practice will reset their eight consecutive practice streak. If athletes are at school on Tuesday, we encourage them to attend at least an hour of practice to keep their streak alive. The eight-consecutive-practice rule is an IHSAA rule, not a Richmond High School rule.

I owe several athletes an apology for expressing my frustration with this during the team meeting today. We know our athletes are in many different activities. If an evening activity does not begin until 6:00 PM, a partial practice that counts as a practice is better than no practice at all. This will include future events such as Academic Excellence for seniors, senior scholarship interviews (morning interviews or come as soon as interviews are done), etc. We try to accommodate these events while still making it clear that the only path to excellence in track and field is through consistent practice. RHS Athletics is trying to set a standard for accountability, and we want to be part of the positive forward motion in that direction.

All information - calendars, cancellations, workout plans, etc. While regular communications will come through ParentSquare, social media, etc., SportsYou will always be the first place we update and have the most complete information. For example, practice plans will not be sent out via any other method. If you do not have a smartphone (and I know many athletes do not) then an account can be made on the web on their school computer. The join code for online folks or people already reading this on their phones is DLULDXUF.

Track athletes are expected to be at practice Monday through Friday each week. Athletes should be communicating with their jobs about their schedule changes. A full schedule of track meets will be made available as soon as possible. If an athlete cannot make it to practice, communication is required. An athlete will receive three excused absences, after which they will meet with a coach about their attendance and further action will be determined. Parents and athletes can reach out to Coach Lambright via the Google Voice number (765) 205-2647.

I want to be clear: We understand that track athletes are involved in many different activities. Skipping practice with zero communication is not an option. Athletes must have an initial eight consecutive practices before competing.

Athletes must be passing at least five courses at the six weeks grade checks in order to continue participating in track and field. We would prefer that athletes pass all of their classes, but five passing classes is a minimum. The six weeks ended last week, Tuesday, February 17th. Athletes who are ineligible may still practice but cannot compete until the next grade certification. Please see your coaches if you are struggling with the balance of school and athletics.

All parent contact should come through ParentSquare. If you are not on the ParentSquare feed for RHS track and field, please reach out to Coach Lambright at your earliest convenience. Coach Lambright will be adding this season's track athletes as they begin showing up, with the first round going into ParentSquare following this newsletter.