Indoor Track is holding tryouts for the first time this year.

Spartan Cross Country and Track have been among the most successful WS sports in recent years. Surprisingly, the team was one of the only sports that WS offers that does not require the athlete to tryout to make the team. However, the coaches have decided that this year, they will require all prospective athletes to make a required time in order to make the Indoor Track team.

“I’m a little nervous,” said freshman and first time runner Chris White. “But I think it will be pretty easy.”

The change was not implemented because of a lack of quality runners, the coaches just wanted to lessen the amount of people on the team so they can focus more on individual performance and to encourage more runners to stay in shape during the off-season.

“It’s to make our numbers more manageable,” said Indoor Track coach Chris Pellegrini. “It’s a learning process for us as well.”

 Many people hear the word “tryout” and immediately begin to think about getting cut. That is not the case with Indoor Track. The coaches are not looking to cut a huge number of hopeful runners; they are more interested in cutting people that don’t do anything in the off-season to stay in shape or don’t put any effort towards getting better.

“We’re trying to create more of an incentive to get [the runners] into shape,” said Pellegrini.

Indoor track is an exhausting sport and   staying in condition year round is a critical aspect of the sports, especially for those who hope to compete in long distance competitions. This raises the question of whether or not tryouts will have a major effect on Indoor Track’s ability to fill out their roster. The coaches feel that this will not be a problem at all, as the tryouts are not intended to cut many people.

“The numbers will not be stretched thin at all,” said Pellegrini.

For athletes who play other sports, one of the best things about Track is that it’s a great way to stay in shape during the off-season without a high risk of injury. Indoor Track especially attracts athletes who participate in sports that require exceptional endurance, such as Cross Country, Outdoor Track, Football, and Lacrosse.

The tryout will require runners to run eight-hundred meters (two laps around the WS track) in just over three minutes.

“Anyone who plays another sport at WS should not have any issue making the team,” said Pellegrini.