From the turf and helmet, to the red rubber track and spikes, junior Grey Patterson explains his involvement with the track team and how it has affected him.

“I compete in the 400, the 4×400, and the 800, and sometimes I’ve done the 4×100. I’ve done the 200. It just depends what they tell me to run, but my main one is the 400 and the 4×400,” Patterson said.

Patterson has big goals for this season. He explains how he has felt in the past and what he hopes for the future.

“My goals this year is to actually get some points on the board. Freshman and sophomore year, I was just good enough to be on varsity, but not. I was just a placeholder, like I just met that requirement, but this year my goal is if I can run under a sub 50-400 (meters) and if I can get some points and place and get some of those medals that would be my goal,” Patterson said.

With the wind going against you, the rain falling down onto you, or the scorching heat in the state of Texas can be really hard to run in during this sport. Patterson has an opinion on his favorite weather for a meet.

“Weather would be gray overcast and probably in the 60’s or 70’s, but gray overcast, no wind. That’s just perfect, and then the best stadium I really like is the New Braunfels stadium to run in. That’s a good stadium to go up to,” Patterson said.

As a junior in high school, the thought about where to go to college and what you want to do starts to play a big factor in your life.

“If it happens, it happens, but I’m not looking for it or pursuing that,” Patterson said. “I’m just going to try to go to whatever college I can go to that’s best academically for me that I can get accepted in, but if I can go to college to run track that would be awesome as well. Let’s just see how well I do this year.”

Written by Collin Spires, staff writer