The Manhattan High varsity track team will be competing in their first meet of the season at Washburn Rural on Thursday. This meet, unlike most of them, doesn’t do team scores.

“We’re all just mainly looking to get quality marks on the board to start out the season,” varsity distance runner Cara Melgares, junior, said. “The pressure is off in terms of looking for a team win. The goal is to go out and sort of get ourselves in the groove of competition on the track.”

Track is one of the largest sports at Manhattan High in terms of participation, with over 100 athletes competing. When there’s such a large team, friendships are bound to happen.

“[My favorite part about being part of such a large team is] getting to know and interacting with people who I don’t see everyday at school,” sophomore varsity sprinter C.J. Lowry said. “It just makes practice [and the meets] a lot more fun.”

Early on, a positive tone has been set for the season and varsity sprinter Mikela Robinson, junior, had high hopes of qualifying for state in both individual and relay events.

“[The season is] going quite awesome,” Robinson said. “You just feel so good after a difficult practice.”