King’s Fork High School’s outdoor track and field team is optimistic about the season after having recently competed in its first conference outdoor meet.

Just a little less than a month after indoor track season, schools are now back in action for the outdoor season.

The Bulldogs took part in their first outdoor meet on March 21, and the results were encouraging. Coach Shawn Warren and the rest of his coaches and athletes took a week off after the state meet before preparation began for the outdoor season.

Warren said the approach to the first outdoor meet was like somewhat of a training session. Most of the runners ran in longer races than normal. Also, some athletes were held out who were transitioning from winter sports or nursing injuries.

Whether inside or outside, the goal is the same for the Bulldogs: to reach regional and statewide competition.

“In regards to goals, they stay the same,” Warren said. “To continue to try to build a championship-caliber program and to prepare and compete to the best of our ability. We want to advance as many athletes as possible to regional and state competition.”

King’s Fork has returned a core group of athletes.

In particular, Warren is excited about the return of Kaia Young, who is one of the Bulldogs’ best female sprinters. She missed the indoor season because she was living in Italy, but Warren is looking for her to have an immediate impact.

On the boys’ side, Malachi Echols, a transfer from Tabb High School, is expected to contribute in several events, including the hurdles and the horizontal jumps.

Warren is optimistic about the season. The Bulldogs should remain strong in the sprint department but are losing depth in long-distance races because of athletes participating in other spring sports.

One notable performance from King’s Fork’s first meet on the track at Churchland High School was that of sprinter Nasir Davis.

He finished first and had a personal record of 11.29 in the 100-meter dash. His performance automatically qualified him for the event at the 4A state meet.

“It was somewhat of a surprise, considering we hadn’t done a lot of technical work to that point,” Warren said. “It wasn’t a great day for sprinting because of the cool temperatures either. For him to get that automatic qualifier off just general-conditioning work is very encouraging. I fully expect him to run solidly under 11 seconds very soon.”

Because King’s Fork’s approach in the first meet, it is too early to tell where the team stands. Warren believes the Bulldogs’ next meet will be a better indicator of where the team can go.

That will be a Southeastern District meet Apr. 5 at Grassfield High School.

Other notable finishes at Conference 17 meet:

• Azza Harvey placed third in girls’ 100 meter.
• Amari and Imani Urbanksi tied for third in girls’ high jump with 4-08.00.
• Joel Iglesias placed second in boys’ 200-meter dash and third in long jump.
• Shamon Smith placed first in boys’ 1600 meters.
• Jack Van Straten placed first in boys 3200 meters.
• Malachi Echols placed third in triple jump.