“Driven, determined, and pleasant” are the three words to describe track and field athlete Amanda Carr, said Mr. Gable, one of the CB South track coaches.

Amanda Carr is a sophomore at CB South who enjoys competing for the Varsity team alongside her supportive coach and teammates.

Amanda joined the Girls’ Varsity Team in just her freshman year. However, that was not just the beginning of her track and field career.

“I started doing track in sixth grade for CYO,” said Amanda. “I decided to do track because it was rewarding doing well in all the races, and I also received a lot of support from my coaches, teammates, and my parents.”

Track and field requires a lot of dedication and work. “We practice Monday through Friday for about 2 hours,” said Amanda. “We warm up, do different workouts every day, and a cool down at the end of practices.”

The practices before meets are different than typical daily practices. The practices are “made easier so our bodies do not get tired for the upcoming meet,” said Amanda. “Before a meet,  I feel nervous and anxious. After a meet, I am relieved and relaxed.”

Amanda also participated in Winter Track last year, as well as Spring Track. Winter practices are “more intense because you are building up your endurance for Spring Track,” said Amanda.

During her freshman year, Amanda was in the Girls’ Varsity Team. “It was intimidating at first, but as I got to know my teammates, it was more fun. It took more effort, but it was all worth it in the end,” said Amanda.

“It’s her hard work. She is obviously very dedicated to the team, dedicated to her teammates, but her intensity when it comes to racing and competing is some of the best,” said Mr. Gable.  “She is very driven to beat others in the sprints, and she knows that by her hard work and her drive, she will be able to pull others with her. She is a very trustworthy individual on relay. I will always know that she’s going to step up and perform.”

Being on a non-varsity team was “a lot less intense and you didn’t have to be as committed,” said Amanda. “In varsity, your weekends are taken up by track. I don’t have a lot of time to be social, like I was when doing non-varsity track.”

Off the track, Amanda enjoys drawing, singing, playing the piano and soccer. She is also very social on and off the field, and likes to make friends with the people she meets doing these activities.

By participating in track, Amanda became a lot closer to her teammates. “We were together all the time. Having practices after school got us very close and we helped each other achieve our goals,” said Amanda. “It is a team sport, but self-driven. You need to motivate yourself, but also work as a team at the same time.”

Looking forward to the upcoming track season and Amanda’s continuous self-motivation and team cooperation, “the team needs to work hard and be dedicated, like last year,” said Amanda.

The team last year did “very well,” placing third in the state for the 4 X 1 relay. They ended up seventh in the state of the 4 X 4 relay. Amanda qualified for districts in both of those relays, and the 100 and 200, individually. Being a ninth grader, the more important focus for her was the relays in order to gain the experience needed for the individual events.

In the future, Mr. Gable said he “expects her to qualify for Indoor States, and at least one individual event, and then in both relays.” He added, “So at indoor states, she’ll compete as a sophomore in two relays, and an individual event. I expect her to qualify in the same events for outdoor, and just be part of that relay team that wants to surpass what they did last year.”

Amanda is determined to meet these expectation the upcoming Track and Field season. Coach Gable, her teammates, and CB South will be rooting for Amanda Carr and the rest of the team.