OPRF boys track is off to a hot start. On Feb. 26, the Huskies traveled to Proviso West for their first invitational of the indoor season. The Huskies dominated, scoring 115 points and taking first place. They beat second place Lake Park by almost 30 points, and third place Downers Grove South by almost 40 points.

Sophomore Mason Phillips finished second in the long jump with a personal record of 6.31 meters, junior Joshua Meister finished second in the Pole Vault with a personal record of 14-02.00 meters, junior Liam Newhart won the 1 mile race with a personal record of 4:26.61, senior Lou DeLano finished second in the 800m race in 2:01.66, and senior Ian Kelley finished second in the 55m hurdles with a time of 8.16 seconds and first in the 400m race with a time of 51.45 seconds.

In addition, the Huskies have hosted two smaller home meets: their first home meet against Kenwood, Fenwick, and St. Ignatius, as well as a dual home meet against Lyons Township. Both meets were not scored.

“We’ll use this strong start to our indoor season as a nice stepping stone for the much longer outdoor season. Indoor really only has a couple big meets, while outdoor we’ve got many more,” says DeLano. “Having a good indoor season is awesome but it doesn’t mean much if we don’t follow it up with an even better outdoor campaign.”

“I think our team has some really good speed that is versatile enough to win us any race. Our 4x200m and 4x400m squads will be super dominant this year,” says Kelley. “I’m excited to see where our team can go with such young talent. We have a lot of young guys who work every day to be at the highest level possible.”

The Huskies have shown their dominance in the indoor season, but they still haven’t reached top form. Many of the rosters, racers, or teams for the various events have yet to be decided.

“As of right now, our relays aren’t really set in stone. We’ve run a couple different guys in our 4×400’s including Leo Rooney, Alex Hasapis, Derrick Reed, Owen Augustine, and Kelley. Same deal with our 4×200, we don’t have a roster that’s set in stone but it will most likely be a combination of Liam Moroney, David Flint, Elijah Mowatt, Caleb Schulz, and Geegee Yeboah,” says DeLano.

In a sport with so many different events and crafts, The Huskies have found a way to truly come together as a team during the season.

“While track is considered an individual sport, we have an incredible bond as a team and we all race for each other. Watching my teammates push themselves as hard as they can all meet long makes me want to do the same,” says DeLano.

“As a team I would say we are really good at holding each other accountable and bringing each other up. My best events are the 100 meter and 200 meter dash. As a team, I’d say we are dominate in every other event,” says senior Jeremy Pierre.

Building off their success in the indoor season, the huskies have big ambitions for the upcoming outdoor season.

“Our team goals are pretty much the same each year. We want to win the ‘big 4’ meets, which are Indoor Conference, Outdoor Conference, Sectionals, and State. We’ve won the first 3 a lot over the past couple year so our biggest goal is to finally get atop the podium in May,” says DeLano.

On March 18, the Huskies started their trek towards winning the “big 4” by winning their indoor conference for the sixth year in a row, beating second place Downers Grove North by 12 points and third place Hinsdale Central by 60 points. The Huskies are back in action on Saturday, April 9 when they take on Niles West in their outdoor opener.