The Lions JV track team started out the season with a practice meet against McNeil. The school, known for it’s fast runners, was the only competition at the meet.

“McNeil is a very fast team and we really held our own,” JV Girls’ Coach Gigi Heermans said. “I was very impressed with the team.”

The boys and girls have been working at practice, with a variety of workouts such as running up and down the bleachers, 600 meter runs, 400 meter runs, several 200 meter runs in a row and several 100 meter dashes in a row.

“Practice has been definitely hard with all the workouts (the coaches) have been putting us through, but it’s been easy doing them knowing our hard work is going towards something that will help us improve,” freshman Jaelin Smith said.

The JV Lady Lions had a long list of accomplishments at the meet; having won medals in the 200 meter dash from Freshman Katie Pizer. The boys also medaled in 110 hurdles, long jump, and triple jump. 

“It was really fun getting to run the relay,” freshman runner Jake Reed said. “There were upperclassmen there and we beat them. There were 16 schools (at the meet), and some of them were a lot bigger than we are. Leander placed 5th out of all of them, so it was pretty cool.”

At the end of the meet, spirits were high as the team moved to the field to cheer on their relay, mile, and 200 runners. When a runner didn’t do as well as expected, the girls and boys were there to support them and cheer them up.

“The team was very supportive and encouraging and made somebody feel better about themselves if they didn’t perform to their capability,” freshman runner Kristen Crites said. “We all told each other good job and made sure to tell them they could be better.”

The next meet was at Vandegrift last Thursday, where the Lions ran against Vista Ridge, Vandegrift, Marble Falls, and Westlake.