The Indoor Ohio Top 20. The USA Top 50. More podium finishes than you can shake a baton at. That’s the story of SPIRE Academy Track & Field so far this year, and it’s still only midseason.

“Overall the team is doing exceptionally well,” says Kerron Stewart, Head Coach of Sprints at SPIRE. “We’re showing up to events in dominating fashion. I’m incredibly proud of our student athletes for their dedication, resilience and hard work both on and off the field. Their commitment to excellence, teamwork and personal growth is truly inspiring. Watching these young men and women push each other, push their limits, overcome challenges, make adjustments and achieve their goals makes every moment—and all the effort—worthwhile.” 

The outstanding performances are many and, happily, not confined to one gender or the other. That is, both men’s and women’s track and field are killing it this year. Here’s an overview of what SPIRE’s young runners, jumpers and throwers have accomplished so far in 2024–2025:

Women’s Track & Field Standings

Team

Ohio Rankings Top 20	USA Rankings Top 50
4×400: 1st	4×400: 9th
4×200: 1st	4×200: 3rd

Kadia Rock

Ohio Rankings Top 20	USA Rankings Top 50
200 Meter: 1st	200 Meter: 27th
300 Meter: 1st	300 Meter: 18th
400 Meter: 1st	400 Meter: 12th
60 Meter Hurdles: 6th

Brooklyn Taylor

Ohio Rankings Top 20	USA Rankings Top 50
Triple Jump: 1st	Triple Jump: 36th
Long Jump: 4th	N/A
60 Meter Dash: 7th	N/A
55 Meter Hurdles: 3rd	55 Meter Hurdles: 22nd
60 Meter Hurdles: 1st	60 Meter Hurdles: 14th
200 Meter Dash: 6th	N/A

Jenna Thomas

Ohio Rankings Top 20	USA Rankings Top 50
60 Meter Dash: 16th	N/A
55 Meter Hurdles: 1st	55 Meter Hurdles: 14th
60 Meter Hurdles: 3rd	60 Meter Hurdles: 30th
400 Meter Dash: 3rd	N/A
200 Meter Dash: 8th	N/A

Daquanna Howell

Ohio Rankings Top 20	USA Rankings Top 50
300 Meter Dash: 5th	N/A
200 Meter Dash: 15th	N/A

Huia Pollock

Ohio Rankings Top 20	USA Rankings Top 50
High Jump: 14th	N/A

Kaylee McIntyre

Ohio Rankings Top 20	USA Rankings Top 50
55 Meter Dash: 4th	N/A

Taya Mack

Ohio Rankings Top 20	USA Rankings Top 50
55 Meter Dash: 11th	N/A

Berta Kondraite

Ohio Rankings Top 20	USA Rankings Top 50
55 Meter Hurdles: 18th	N/A

Men’s Track & Field Standings

Team

Ohio Rankings Top 20

4×200: 5th

4×400: 2nd

Dane Szczepkowski

Ohio Rankings Top 20

200 Meter Dash: 16th

400 Meter Dash: 6th

Peyton Wheeler

Ohio Rankings Top 20

400 Meter Dash: 7th

Kelan McCullough

Ohio Rankings Top 20

60 Meter Hurdles: 20th

Long Jump: 3rd

Pole Vault: 9th

55 Meter Hurdles: 1st

Alex Irons

Ohio Rankings Top 20

55 Meter Hurdles: 11th

300 Meter Dash: 16th

Jose Luis Sosa

Ohio Rankings Top 20

300 Meter Dash: 12th

“As you can see from the results, we have a lot of student athletes competing in a lot of different events,” says Tim Mack, Program Director & Head Coach, Vertical & Horizontal Jumps at SPIRE. “Our team has expanded significantly over the last few years, and now we have student athletes competing in sprinting, hurdling, jumping, throwing and distance events. It’s inspiring to witness up-close how all their hard work and dedication is translating into measurable success.”

Before all that hard work and dedication translates into measurable success, however, it first translates into a phrase Coach Stewart regularly uses to inspire and motivate her student athletes: “TRUST YOUR STUFF!” “Stuff,” in the mind of Coach Stewart, being that flow-state of mind and body all athletes strive to achieve, and only finally achieve by committing themselves fully to their sport and to their training. Stewart: “I encourage all our student athletes to keep striving, keep believing, and to trust their stuff. For me, that means letting go and getting in the action of the moment. You’re in one race and one event at a time. Whether you’re training or competing, it’s always just one moment, one SPIRE, one team. Hats off to all the coaches and the SPIRE support system that help guide our student athletes. It’s truly a team effort.”

If a track-and-field season is a collection of moments, there are many left to go in this one. And from what Coach Mack sees, there’s a great deal of success to be mined from these remaining moments: “This group exemplifies the values we strive to install in all our student athletes: persistence, resilience, determination, humility and grace. The excitement among the coaches is palpable as we start our sprint to the end of the current season. The best is yet to come.”