Malcolm Engel:

His freshman and sophomore years, senior Malcolm Engel was running on the winter track and field team to prepare for baseball in the spring.

When spring of his junior year came, Engel decided to join the spring track and field team, and that year he made the All State relay team. Engel said that he plans on continuing track and field at Indiana University next year as well.

According to Engel, what he likes about track compared to other sports is that it challenges a person mentally.

“You have to rely 100 percent on yourself,” Engel said. “It is a team sport, but it is mostly based on the person who is running.”

Engel is also involved in the music department at South, specifically Nine and Drumline. According to Engel, he is constantly rushing around to get to different places, and has to prioritize his time wisely.

According to coach Kurt Hasenstien. Engel is very responsible when it comes to communicating with him on important dates.

“Three weeks ago he said that [on] the day of the sectional track meet he also has some solos in the spring choir concert,” Hasenstein said. “Most kids don’t look that far ahead. He was able to tell me and also coordinate with the choir department so that he could do both.”

According to Engel, his best experience was going to the state meet last season, and seeing all the competition from around Illinois.

“It meant representing my school and myself,” Engel said. “Also, seeing what level I’m at with the sport.”

During his first full season of track, Engel made the All-State relay team. According to Hasenstein, he believes the biggest success Engel has had all season was giving the team a huge lead at the All-State meet.

“The particular leg of the relay he ran last year was very impressive,” Hasenstein said. “It gave us a pretty big lead in our heat to help get us to the finals.”

According to Hasenstein, Engel has a very laid-back personality, but is always working hard during practice.

“You wouldn’t know he is as competitive as he is just having a conversation with him,” Hasenstein said. “But when he gets on the track he is one of those kids who wants win.”

David O’Gara:

For junior David O’Gara, having many of his friends on the track and field team has made his experience on the team more memorable.

“I have the best teammates,” O’Gara said. “We all know each other, and it is a lot of fun.”

According to senior Malcolm Engel, the team refers to O’Gara by his nickname, “Dog”, because of his first initial and the first two letters of his last name.

“I love having that nickname,” O’Gara said. “It was given to me my freshman year by one of the seniors and ever since to everybody on the team I am ‘Dog.’”

According to coach Kurt Hasenstein, O’Gara not only keeps track of times for most of his teammates, but has knowledge of runners from other schools and their statistics as well.

“He is totally engrossed in the whole sport,” Hasenstein said. “We have had to monitor that sometimes, because he worries a little too much about what other people are doing. This past season he has gotten away from that and it has made him a better competitor.”

O’Gara is also involved in cross country in the fall, and has made all-conference for cross country during his sophomore and junior years.

“He has set a lot of lower level records [in cross country],”Hasenstein said. “I think the next step for him would be to challenge some of our varsity records and go to State for that.”

According to O’Gara, he has learned that he has to work hard in track to be successful.

“In order to be the best runner you can be, you have to go all the way into it, and you can’t go halfway,” O’Gara said.

Hasenstein says O’Gara is a leader by example, and is someone who would speak up at a team meeting.

“He is a good motivator,” Hasenstein said. “Sometimes [if] a kid doesn’t have a good race, David is always one to put his arm around a teammate. He finds something positive in every situation.”

Luke Pilliod:

After injuring his left hamstring during a relay event in the indoor season, junior Luke Pilliod is now recovered and working his way back into the spring track and field season, according to coach Kurt Hasenstein.

Hasenstein is working slowly to get Pilliod back on the track, but he has to be especially careful that Pilliod doesn’t re-injure his leg. While Hasenstein said the process is sometimes hard for Pilliod, he said it is more important to have Pilliod running in the important meets that lead to State.

“I’m not good at staying uninjured, so when I am healthy I am able to run my best,” Pilliod said.

As a freshman, Pilliod was in Hasenstein’s gym class, and after running hurdles one day for the track and field unit, Hasenstein asked Pilliod to try out for the team. According to Pilliod, he wasn’t too keen on trying out, but Hasenstein was able to convince him to join the team.

“[Pilliod] was such a competitive kid in everything we did [in gym class],” Hasenstein said. “He is one of those kids who hates to lose. He has had to temper that a little because sometimes the frustration gets in his way.”

According to Pilliod, his favorite aspect of track is seeing the hard work pay off in his times improving.

“You know if you work hard, you will get results, and I have seen that,” Pilliod said.

According to Pilliod, his best experience has been going to the state meet last year, and it made him think of the sport in a better way.

“I was running in front of a ton of people and it was pretty scary for me,” Pilliod said. “But it made track that much cooler to be able to run at the state meet.”

Pilliod’s main event is the hurdles. According to Hasenstein, Pilliod’s times have dropped, but there is always room for improvement.

“You can always get better at your technique,” Hasenstein said. “[His times will keep dropping] if he continues to do the things he did in the off season.”