Powell High School added an indoor track program to its winter sports list, among basketball, wrestling, and swimming. Powell’s lack of an indoor facility leads the boys and girls to wake up at around 3:45 a.m. for meets, often in Gillette.

Powell implemented their indoor program in 2022 and is entering its second year. Initially, athletes in Powell who wanted to compete in indoor track had to make the 30-minute drive to Lovell and participate on their track team. The track program is running strong so far.

“We got some really good coaches,” junior Trevon Abraham said.  “I would say the only downfall is we have to get up at 3:00 in the morning.”

Annoyance about the wake-up times is a common theme among athletes. Often, other players complain about their wake-up times, to which a track athlete says something like, “Oh yeah? I bet you didn’t have to wake up as early as me.”

While wake-up times probably won’t improve for some time, players are already seeing improvements since last year. 

“I’ve seen coaches really plan out practices and everything,” junior Salem Brown said. “They do workouts specific to indoor events which can be a lot different from outdoor events.”

Coaches themselves have started seeing their own improvement, not only in their coaching but in athletes, preparation, and use of buildings around the small town of Powell. Like any new program, there will be some issues, but they will work it out.

“We’re going to be on the upward movement for a while,” science teacher and indoor and outdoor Head Track Coach Mr. Scott Smith says. “As we get more kids and figure out how to use our facilities better and do a better job preparing for the sport.” 

The team has confidence, with players often achieving personal records of their events and good placements. With only two more meets until state, there is only room for improvement.

“The team is looking good,” Abraham says. “I think we got a good shot at placement for state.”