By Maggie Brandenburg
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Portraits of track runners past line the top of the walls of the women’s track team locker rooms–these portraits are a testament to some of the best to ever take a run around this school’s track. Paintings of some of the greatest leaders and runners stand as a testament to how they influenced their teams. And now, as she enters her senior season, Kelly McCurdy is destined to join that wall of fame.

“When I was a freshman, I really looked up to the seniors, and for me it’s just weird to be a senior and to be leading the team,” McCurdy said.

According to Head Coach Tim Mylin, the captains of the team have some major responsibilities and can be the deciding factor when it comes down to the wire during meets. By performing pep talks before meets and leading stretches, the captains play a vital role in raising team morale which is a huge factor for success throughout the season.

“There are pretty much unwritten rules,” Mylin said. “We sit down with them and tell them the significance of being a captain. And sometimes they don’t realize how important a job it is.”

Another big way McCurdy has made a difference for her team is in the way she interacts with the underclassmen. By inspiring them to do better and by leading a good example, McCurdy said she has established herself as someone to look up to in her final year of track.

Freshman and runner Lauren Kahre said,“Kelly sets a very high bar. She doesn’t think about negatives. If we were to have a bad practice or to have a not so great meet, she’d be there and just be like ‘forget about it, everyone has those slumps and just get back at it’.”

Few events in life are as nerve-racking as the State meet for women’s track team members, and as an athlete who has been there several times, Mylin said McCurdy brings a certain calm to first timers who have never run under the big lights against the best of the best. Acording to Mylin, McCurdy’s consistency lends her to be an even bigger asset not only for her guidance but for her times.

“The State meet experience is invaluable,” he said. “I mean, first time there, it’s an overwhelming experience, because you’re running against the best of the best and you’re not quite sure where you fit in. A lot of kids buckle under the pressure. And every year I’ve coached Kelly, she’s had her best time at State. She has this unique ability to mentally be at her best at the State tournament.”

Despite the accolades from her peers and coach, though, McCurdy said she is really only looking to get her team to a place they haven’t been since the early part of the decade: State.

“It’d be really great to get a top five place at State,” she said. “I don’t know, I just really want the team to improve this year.”