Just this past weekend, the Chelsea Hornets Track & Field team competed at the Indoor State Finals Meet. They did well, the girls placing 2nd overall, with Hoover in first place. Our very own senior, Cady McPhail, is #1 in the state of Alabama, placing first in every race she ran, including the 800m, the 1600m, the 3200m, and the 4x800m. The sprinters did well too, placing second in the girls 4x200m, with a time of 1 minute and 47 seconds. 

The Buzz has had a chance to catch up with Sophomore Ryker Mattes, a sprinter on Chelsea’s Track & Field team. We asked him a few questions about this indoor season.

“I think we did really well at state. It was our first year in 7A, and the girls got second place overall. If we work really hard over the summer I bet the boys and the girls could win next year,” he said. Mattes ran the 4x200m at state, as the third leg. “I run the 60m and the 4x200m during indoor season, and at state I ran the 4x200m. My best event is definitely 200m, and overall the team’s best event is probably the 4x200m or the 4x100m, which is coming up soon in outdoor season,” Mattes said. The boys did not get first or second at state, but according to Ryker Mattes they’re all willing to put in the work to do it next year!

The Buzz also had a chance to talk to Clifford Lee, the head coach of Chelsea Track & Field. He works his athletes extremely hard, always pushing them to do their best. “This season, the improvement has been CRAZY. Even though these are the same athletes, this team is wholly unrecognizable from last season. Even though we didn’t win, this is the best team in the state. All we lack in the tradition and the numbers. That will change soon though,” he said. There have been many PRs this season, and clearly lots of improvement. “The most improved runner is likely Sarah Johnston (senior sprinter) in the indoor 400m. To get the team ready for state, the most important thing was affirming that they were ready to go and compete. That’s more important than the workouts really,” Lee stated. He loves his team and always wants the best for them!

With outdoor season coming up, the team is training hard, mentally and physically, to beat Hoover. They’ve been in the weight room daily, working on blocks and hand-offs, doing hurdle workouts, sprinting, jumping, and more. For this team, the best is yet to come.