Buffalo Grove's track team has been grinding it out all season long, with 100- and 200-meter-star Nya Carr pull more than her share of the load.
The young track squad has been filled with high hopes since head coach Kendra Hutchinson's first year at the helm in 2015. The goal this season was to unify the girls with a team-over-individual approach.
"We used the mantra this year, TEAM > TEAMMATE > SELF," Hutchinson said. "We got this from John Underwood and the Navy Seals, who have visited BG several times in the past year. It is a tough concept for a sport like track and field, but we tried to apply it to various aspects of the sport and really work on our team unity. The idea is that by working together and pushing each other we each get better and therefore become a better team."
Buffalo Grove built on that selfless concept, although it often had to thank Carr for first-place finishes in the 100- and 200-meter runs. Carr was the school's sole qualifier in the state tournament. An All-State, All-Conference junior, she notched five first-place finishes in 100-meter and four in 200-meter contests.
"Nya is an exceptional young lady who made her third appearance at state last weekend," Hutchinson said. "She was the sectional champion in the 100m, 200m, and long jump to qualify her for the state meet. She met her goal of running under 12 seconds in the 100m (she ran in 11.92) and finished seventh in the state. She is a quiet leader on our team with a huge love for the sport."
One big setback came when senior Sherrie McNeal strained her hamstring toward the end of the season, but the team rallied and determined to track their progress through the peaks and valleys of the year.
Hutchinson said she wants the girls to keep raising their scoring and get even more state qualifiers.
"We'd love to bring some more girls with Nya down to state next season," she said. "We have a good group coming back with a lot of potential. We did a better job this year of spreading out our scoring with sprints, jumps, throws and distance, and we'd like to continue to see that improve next year."
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