In its six-year history, the varsity track and field (T&F) team had many adept athletes, one of whom was Philip Ham, the previous SIS 100-meter sprint record holder—having received the MVP accolade for T&F, Ham consistently placed among the top runners of KAIAC. This streak continued for four years, culminating in his 12.10-second personal record. This record remained unbeaten until Carson Park finally broke the school record in the fourth 2024 Humphrey Track and Field meet, finishing the race in 12.03 seconds.

After Ham’s leave, there were many concerns about the future of the track team. The freshmen and sophomores had big shoes to fill and the “open-varsity” nature of the T&F Varsity Team didn’t especially help in recruiting high-profile athletes. Simultaneously, however, the absence of a tryout resulted in an influx of new members, many of whom were keen on improving.

“By being an open varsity, we are able to gather more members to participate in events,” Jihwan Lee (11), Varsity Track and Field Captain, said. “However, that also invites people that aren’t as passionate about Track and Field as those who actually are, and therefore sometimes brings down the team morale.”

To ameliorate the skills of a wide array of athletes: former badminton, golf, and soccer players, T&F practice incorporated a mix of rigorous weight and calisthenics training. Compared to last year, T&F is far more arduous, practice takes place four days a week, and the number of meets doubled.

“I always knew it wasn’t going to be an easy feat, ” Carson Park (10), 100-meter sprint record holder, said. “Practice was tough but I knew it would pay off eventually and it did.”

Carson Park’s achievement was joined by Won-gyeom (11) and Jihwan’s (11) stellar performances, each breaking the record for the 110-meter hurdles and the 3200 meters respectively. The SIS T&F Team ended up placing higher than they did last year, earning almost triple the points they did last year.