Newark adds track and field program

Jim Still officially began his new role as the principal at Newark High School on July 1, but he's already helped to bring a significant addition to Newark athletics with the approval of a boys and girls track and field program for the 2015-16 school year.

Still is no stranger to athletics. He spent the past 10 years in the Yorkville School District and was the head football coach for six years before resigning after the 2010 season to take an administrative position in the district. So it's no surprise that Still dove right in on this project with Newark athletic director Carol Navarro before he officially started as principal.

"When I was in the transitional phase, I went to Millbrook (Junior High) and Lisbon Grade School and met with the building leaders and kids there, specifically the eighth graders who will be freshmen. One of the things I recognized right away and was curious about was that they have track at both of those feeder schools and they're excpetionally good at it," Still said. "There were many students who qualified for state and won medals while they were there, yet we didn't have a high school track team. I asked Carol Navarro about that and I asked Amy Smith, our superintendent, about that. Everybody really seemed to be on board with trying to add track.

"Everybody has been very supportive and very excited. We've been busy, but we're just trying to do what's best for the kids. It's a great opportunity."

Navarro surveyed the students to get an idea of the level of interest in a track and field program. Currently, baseball and softball are the only spring sports offered at Newark.

"It really seemed like a no-brainer," Still said. "We're a smaller school and we're very realistic. We don't want to lose athletes from baseball and softball. We highly encourage kids to do both. We're open to that."

Still referred to a recent Yorkville graduate, MacKenzie Lee, who participated in both girls' soccer and track and field during her time as a student athlete. She not only received a women's soccer scholarship to Northern Illinois University, but she also was a track and field state qualifier in shot put.

"Here's a kid who is a Division I soccer player who is participating in track. If you can do that at a bigger school, there's no question we can do that here," Still said of Lee. "We're not going to ask kids to pick. Carol had done a great job putting together a schedule that tentatively doesn't overlap with baseball and softball. We want to make it doable for our coaches and our kids. I asked MacKenzie how many meets she missed and she only missed three. Truly as long as you schedule it accordingly, there's no reason kids can't do both."

"The sad part is that kids have been able to participate in middle school and then not have a program at high school. We're really excited. It gives kids an opportunity to tap into some of their strengths and to be able to continue that level of success they're having in seventh and eighth grade," Still said.

The Newark School Board approved the sport and budget at its June 25 meeting, and Navarro has already developed a 2016 schedule that includes six local track meets – meeting the requirements of the IHSA in order to participate in the state series meets.

"We already have six meets scheduled. I worked on that right away," Navarro said. "We've got teams like Seneca and Yorkville scheduled and a few invites. Some of them are boys only and girls only, but most are co-ed. We have the minimum number to start with to compete at the state level and we can always add more when we see what our numbers are. They're excited about it. Some of the students got wind of this at the end of the school year and they're really excited about getting the opportunity to run."

The sport is also personal for Navarro, as her daughter is set to run track at Judson University in the upcoming school year.

“Track is fun to watch. I like it. It'll be nice to see a little bit different venue that I've never seen in all the years I've been here,” said Navarro, who is in her 18th year at Newark. “We're going to give it a whirl and see how it goes. It's a really neat environment to be at, watching my daughter run in high school."

Based on the survey, Still estimates a team of 20 boys and 20 girls for the inaugural season. Now, work begins to purchase equipment, hire coaches and work out other details to kickstart the sport.

None of the Little Ten Conference members have their own tracks on site, and some have co-op teams with other local schools. Newark used to co-op with Plano, but that dates back more than two decades ago. Newark does not have a track, but Still plans to pair the new high school coaches with the coaches at Millbrook and Lisbon to get training ideas. He does expect to have pits installed for events like high jump and long jump to practice safely.

"The future certainly looks bright," Still said. "We're just going to have to take our show on the road. It's expensive to build a track. Maybe one day. ... Right now we're going to get creative."

The popluarity of track and field could also spark interest in creating a cross country team in the future – something that will be monitored by the athletic department in upcoming seasons.

"If we have enough kids involved, certainly the following fall, cross country would be a possibility because you need fewer people, you don't need a track and that would be a normal transition," Still said. "If we do have a large turnout and we have distance runners, that would be an easy thing to transition to. You've got to make sure you plan far enough out there to have a schedule. With just soccer and volleyball in the fall, it would be pretty neat to add something like that that's not a high expense. But we have to see how track plays out first."

The 2016 track and field season officially begins on Jan. 18. The girls' state meet will be held May 19-21, and the boys' state meet May 26-28 at Eastern Illinois University in Charleston. Newark's first scheduled meet is March 31 at Plano.