Alamo Heights senior Chase Hines took second place with a high jump of 6 feet last weekend at the Alamo Heights Relays. Photo by Marvin Pfeiffer

Spring finally arrives today, and to many, the warm and balmy days signal the start of high school track competition.

Those long, hard training sessions on the track and repetitions in the weight room are finally beginning to pay off as the athletes strive for faster times and greater distances each week.

While track and field appears to some to be a purely individual sport, it is definitely team-oriented and the Alamo Heights High School boys’ and girls’ teams are poised to do well this year.

Boys head coach Bobby Newton is in his eighth year at the school, while Randy Osborne has been coaching the girls for the last 10 seasons. Both anticipate a good season for their respective teams.

“Our sprint relay has done well,” Newton said. “We’ve broken 44 seconds. We have a senior, Chase Hines, who’s really running well in the relays, the 400 meters and also in the high jump.”

Drew Allen, who also quarterbacks the football team, is a prospect in both the intermediate and high hurdles, according to Newton. He just missed first place in the 110-meter hurdles by a hundredth of a second and competed in the triple jump for the first time at the Alamo Heights Relays March 13.

“Terry Anderson does well in the 200, Dallas Brown is really good in the distance runs and our pole vaulters Andrew Bagnall and Brett Benton do really well,” Newton said. “These are our top performers. Right now, Chase is our leading point getter, gaining about 50 points right now.”

Girls head coach Randy Osborne says this year’s team is a little young, but he noted they’re peaking at just the right time.

“We’re only a second off our school record in the 4x2 (800-meter relay); we’re less than a second off in the 4x1 (400-meter relay); and we’re about three seconds off in the 4x4 (1,600-meter relay),” Osborne said. “They’re coming on and doing a good job. We’re thin but we’re going to be pretty competitive in district.”

Christine Scherrer is one to keep an eye on in the pole vault. She took first place in this past week’s Alamo Heights Relays with a jump of 11 feet, just missing on three consecutive tries at 11 feet, 6 inches.

“She’s got some new equipment, and once she gets used to that we look for big things out of her,” Osborne said.

Chelsea Ward-Waller also looks to do well in the distance events. She has netted some of the top times in the region this year in the 800-meter, the 1,600-meter and the 3,200-meter runs.

Osborne is proud of the seniors and is quick to show his appreciation for their efforts.

“We only have one boy and four girls so it makes it tough,” Osborne said of the seniors. “But the ones that have come out have done a great job. It means a lot to us to have them come out and do that.”

The District 27-4A meet this year is scheduled for April 7 and 9 in Kerrville. Both coaches point to Fredericksburg as the top competition in the district as well as Boerne, but feel that the Mules should do well. The top three finishers in each event will advance to the regional meet April 25 and 26.