LYNN — Putting together an all-Lynn track meet is something that Tech coach John Hogan and the rest of the city’s track and field coaches have had their sights on for years. That vision will become a reality this month.
“Me and Classical coach Angel Melendez have been talking about it for years,” Hogan said. “But we were never able to get it off the ground and figure out a date that worked. This year we figured out a date to do it.
“This is the first event that will include all five high schools (Tech, Classical, English, St. Mary’s and KIPP Academy) in any sport,” Hogan said. “There has been track before way back a few years ago but not with the private schools.”
Hogan, who also coaches swimming at Tech, is happy to help give the city’s track athletes a chance to compete side by side.
“We do an unofficial meet in the preseason but it’s not like this,” Hogan said. “It’s just like the city swimming or basketball tournaments. We each have our champions and our leaders and I’m excited to see these kids compete. Whether the final result is win lose or draw its more about the experience. We all see each other at practice all the time. The kids know each other.”
When Hogan and Melendez came to first-year St. Mary’s coach Tristan Smith with the idea, it didn’t take long for the Spartans to get on board.
“They came up to me at a practice and I was immediately interested,” Smith said. “We all share the track at Manning Field for practice and we talked about how the city has never done this before. We have all the schools involved, including KIPP and St. Mary’s, not just the public schools and that’s great.”
Smith is excited to have track and field in the spotlight during the meet, which will include 16 girls and boys events.
“We really want to showcase track in this city,” Smith said. “Recently we haven’t done enough of a job putting this sport in the spotlight. We have a lot of kids doing great things in this sport. It’s been in the shadow of other sports like football but we have some great athletes. Hopefully younger kids can see this and think, ‘I bet I could run that fast, jump that high’ and be inspired.”
With all five schools competing, it may not be possible for every athlete to get a chance, but Smith expects some great competition.
“I think this is great,” Smith said. “We go to a lot of meets and are able to compete but now you can see your work pay off with the local teams. It’s going to be fun and the kids will really get pushed. Every event has their superstars and it’s great for the city to be able to showcase its talent.”
Smith and the rest of the coaches have had meetings planning the event since the start of the spring track season.
“The coaches have all been great,” Smith said. “We were excited talking about the logistics. We’ve made our own format and decided the best way to make it happen, it’s been fantastic. It’s a real city-wide collaboration.
“Right now we are just looking for more business sponsors,” Smith said. “We don’t need much in terms of equipment. We want to have t-shirts and are designing trophies for the winners.”
The first annual city-wide track meet is scheduled for Tuesday, May 21 with the first events planned to start at 3:30 p.m. at Manning Field.
“We’re absolutely hoping to have this be an annual thing,” Hogan said. “We’re going to have around 270 athlete involved. It’s great to have everyone there. Track has always been kind of been a secondary sport for kids who don’t play something else in the Spring. We’re hoping this event can’t help change that.”