Girls’ Track Has High Hopes for the Outdoor Season

Girls’ Track started towards the end of February and has been practicing ever since then. The indoor season starts first, but some are still looking forward to the outdoor season, along with the rest of the season.

“Just to look forward to building together and being one as a team and then the outdoor season is definitely something to look forward to,” senior Anna Bendish said.

Every year this team has the main goal to qualify as many girls as they can for state.

“This year our goal is always to try to get as many state qualifiers as possible and be doing our best. Running the fastest, throwing the farthest. Jumping the best at the end of the season,” Bendish said.

Despite many athletes graduating last year, the team is hoping to build a strong foundation off the younger kids.

“I think this season will be strong for us, we did lose a couple strong seniors, but we have a lot of returners and hope to make the best of it,” Bendish said.

The head coach Gregory Brown has been with the team for three years so now the older girls have been with him just as long as he’s been at Mandan.

“It’s my third year with the program so they have been with me for three years now so we have great leadership within the senior core,” Brown said.

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The team still has high expectations for this season coming off a 5th place finish at state last year.

“I think we can do really well. Girls last year took fifth at state and if we put in the work now and then grow to the end of the season I think we will have a very successful season,” Bendish said.

With losing some seniors last year, Brown is looking for someone to step up for later on in the season.

“We do have a great senior crew coming back this year with our juniors from last year so the expectations are still extremely high but we still need somebody else to enter beast mode at the state meet,” Brown said. There are countless leaders on the team which allows them to help the younger kids reach their goals and to help them through anything.

“The team has a lot of experience and are able to just kind of take them under our wings and help them through everything,” Bendish said.

The great leadership and with the younger athletes Brown still believes the team will do well in both the region and the state meets.

“We do have that great leadership and some young pups that are coming so I still have us very high in the region and in the state,” Brown said.