This year Unified Track team has had a spectacular season so far! They have been improving rapidly and are really setting the expectations high for the other competitors. Just this season, they have already had 4 meets with 3 more before the season ends. 

In case you didn't already know, Unified Track is dedicated to promoting social inclusion through shared sports, training, and competition experiences. Overall, Unified Sports unites people with and without intellectual disabilities to be on the same team. According to Coach Ashlyn Wildman, she says that "It was inspired by a simple principle: training together and playing together is a quick path to friendship and understanding." 

Overall, the three remaining meets include the conference meet in Norfolk on May 3, districts on May 10, and then finally the state meet on May 19. They have two goals for this year's season: to do their best at every meet, and reach the state tournament in every event.

The Unified Track team practices every week on Mondays and Tuesdays. According to Coach Wildman, she says they have seen tremendous growth and improvement since the season started. They have come a long way and are achieving their goals as they keep pushing through the season. 

Altogether, they have 4 athletes and 5 partners competing as of right now. One of the athletes, senior Alex Lotspeich, says that he has had a splendid time competing this year with his partner, Rylee Iburg. He says that it feels so amazing to be part of an activity and to be involved. He has a chance to compete at state and see what it's like. Lotspeich states that he loves having 2 more athletes on the team this year and that his favorite experience from this year was experiencing how it is to win a medal or two. His personal goals this year have been to improve on hitting new personal records (PRs) and try to do his best when state comes around. Having reached state last year, Lotspeich knows what it takes to compete at the highest level. Lotspeich says that he has improved a great amount this year by hitting a new PR in the long jump, as well as steady improvements in sprints.

All in all, the Unified Track team has had an impressive season so far; they have seen tremendous growth in a short period of time. They have come a long way from where they started, and continue to keep improving as they push through to the end of the season. Let's cheer on the Unified Track in the next 3 meets they will have soon, make sure you don't miss out!

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