By Mackenzie Boucher
Special to southeastconferencema.org

The thought of running after an exhaustive day at school can sound like an added daily strain, but for those committed to the Dartmouth High School track team, like senior Madison Stott, track forces them to push through and achieve a new level of strength and appreciation for progress. Madison has broken records for relay, relay split, and the 300 meter race, and her success story is one of inspiration, triumph, and opportunity.  

Madison joined the Dartmouth track team in the winter of her freshman year, followed up with spring track, and since then has done every season of track for the rest of her high school career. Now she is happy taking on the responsibility of being a captain for the winter and spring teams. “At first I didn’t think much of it, usually soccer was my main sport. By junior year, I figured out that I would want to do track in college because of how much I’ve grown.” Madison compares it to her experience playing soccer, “in track it is much easier to see your growth since you get a new time every meet and can use those stats to compare with your other times to see your growth straight on, versus soccer where you don’t have the stats to show you are growing as easily and readily available. You only go by how you feel you did.” The undisputed nature of progress on the track team encourages athletes like Madison to continue striving for faster times. 

Corroborating what Serena Carnes said in a previous interview about the Dartmouth High School track team, Madison has also found a second home on the track.“We are all one big family, I really enjoy running track because of the huge support of my team and the positive energy they give me,” Madison says, “the people who are there for you say it’s okay, you can do it. We believe in you. We have faith and that builds a bond.” The consistent positive reinforcement to perform despite fear of failure, created a nurturing environment for teammates of different skill levels and strengths, and for Madison she believes, “if my teammates weren’t cheering for me and my coaches weren’t pushing me I wouldn’t be where I am.”

Admittedly, she finds a lot of people who think the track team is synonymous with endless running and suffering, connotated with the image of a hamster endlessly running on a wheel. Consequently, they have trouble understanding why anyone would subject themselves to such a lifestyle. However, for Madison track is a means of multifaceted progress; social, emotional, and physical. “When you’re in your own separate event groups, you form better friendships and bonds with people you wouldn’t expect.” Those friends, she finds, grow bonds of a mutual understanding; that everyone wants to help anyone who needs it. Teammates tend to take affirmative action,“ especially if they can see that someone is having a hard time, the workout is hard for them, you can see it on their face or body that they’re getting drained, you can continue it with them, or give them motivation to help them through it.” It’s just the way of the Dartmouth track team.  

As someone who strives to beat past times, every meet is like a mini-Mount Olympus built by herself, that she has to climb. She remembers one such instance,“it was my junior year at the states meet during winter track, it was the last meet of our season, my relay team was working really hard towards the goal of beating the school record that season.” 

She remembers after the relay, the team was filled with one sentiment, “I think we did it. Anticipation, waiting to see the time. Once it happens you’re filled with joy. You’re jumping up and down. Your heart is still racing,” Madison was shocked, “I couldn’t believe it, I just stared at the time, it didn’t feel real, I couldn’t believe I just did that.” She swelled with pride for herself and her team, and the accomplishment has become a pillar of her track experience, motivating her to keep going, to achieve the bliss of seeing a record on the clock.

Records are not the only motivator by any means, the personal nature of rivalries between players is a significant factor in meets. “Anytime we run against Durfee there is this one runner that I know will push me. We are always neck and neck, if she is in a race, it will be an important race to me specifically. It’s a good motivation.” Madison appreciates how the competitive nature positively affects her. 

Madison plans to continue track in college, and is weighing her options currently. She knows, “it will be a whole new aspect of running. I’ll be running against all these other runners I’ve never ran against before. I’m excited for it. I know in college other people will feel the same passion I have for track, and will take it as seriously as I do.” She does not shy away from a new challenge because of the strength the Dartmouth track team originally provided her, “they’re gonna be big, strong, and fast, which is intimidating, but I know they’ll be as welcoming as this team was when I was a freshman.”

Madison passionately believes the positive effect that track has provided her is unparalleled. “Track is individualized, so you get more attention and support because it’s just you,” she says. “It keeps you in shape physically and mentally. I would suggest doing track to anyone.”

By Mackenzie Boucher
Special to southeastconferencema.org

Track is one of the few sports that runs all year round, similar to the sport itself, it’s more about longevity than one-time lucky breaks. It’s also arguably one of the hardest sports to understand. The first thing that comes to mind for a non-track expert is races, but the sport itself is much, much more complicated than getting a fast time. Track and field includes shot puts, vaulting, javelin throwing, variations of jumping, relay, distance running, and racing, making it more of a collection of sports than a single sport; such as soccer or football. But for some athletes, like Dartmouth High School senior captain Serena Carnes, the complicated amalgamation of skills it takes to succeed at track becomes second nature. 

Serena has done softball, soccer, field hockey, lacrosse, and basketball, but “track is the hardest, yet most rewarding sport” she says, “it is a way to clear your thoughts and be in a better mental state.” She has fully committed to doing track during the winter and spring seasons, cross country in the fall, and occasionally has done the 4×4 relay. 

Serena has been part of the track team since freshman year, “I originally had no desire to do track, but my mom encouraged me a lot to do it and try something new.” She looks back at that paramount choice now, “it is one of the best decisions that I made in high school.” 

Four years later, she is now captain, acting as a mentor to the team. “As a person, I believe that one of my strongest attributes is my overriding positivity. As a captain, I feel as though my positivity is also one of my strongest attributions to everyday track life.” She leads warmups, and always offers unwavering support to the team, “I truly value making sure everyone feels heard and appreciated.”

As opposed to sports like basketball, where there can only be one Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen, and the rest of the team is consequently subjected to anonymity, track and field is about lifting each other up, because everyone has to rely on each other to win a meet. 

“The motivation from my teammates and coaches, along with the strong desire to better my times in my races, is what truly feeds the love that I have for track. It is the most welcoming and inviting environment, because no matter how you perform, you will always have a smile on your face on the bus ride home because of the support that everyone gives you,” Serena says about the social dynamics of the team. 

When the natural pressure of going for gold combines with outside factors, no one is immune to feeling stressed, but Serena attributes her ability to rise above the stress to the encouragement from Coach McCarron-Deely and her teammates. To be on the Dartmouth track team evidently involves having the strength to help others reach their goals, and the humbleness to be helped yourself. 

But don’t let the friendly demeanor of DHS track fool you. At its core, track and field is highly competitive, as seen in the rivalry against the Bridgewater-Raynham (B-R) track and field. “B-R has been Dartmouth’s biggest competitor for a long time,” Serena says about the power struggle. “Before our last dual meet on Tuesday (1/24/23), the girls Dartmouth track and field team had only beaten B-R once before, and the boys Dartmouth team had never beaten them before. This meet was by far our biggest and hardest meet of the year, and it came down to the relay races at the end to ultimately win.” 

At Coach McCarron’s directions, Serena, “ran around the track spreading out the team and telling them to be as loud as possible because the last relay races were very important,” all part of being captain and biggest cheerleader of her own team. 

Serena points to the last meet as being  the most important meet of her athletic career. She had the exhaustive task of running the two mile after the one mile race, against their biggest competitor, and the pressure was starkly high. Running the two races took endurance, mental strength, and adrenaline, but in the end her determination rained triumphant and she earned first place, “Our team ended up winning against B-R for the second time ever, becoming Southeastern Conference league champions.”

Serena plans to continue track in college as a club, “I’ve learned so much about myself and that if I can put my mind to something, it is definitely attainable.” Serena thoroughly enjoys track and the sport has taught her that, “trying new things can take you by surprise, and you can start to love them and leave what you’ve known behind,” a lesson that hopefully we all get to experience.