SPRING VALLEY — With the passing of the School District of Spring Valley’s two referendum questions, the district’s wait for a track is coming to an end. While the exact date the track will be ready to go is still pending, much of the referendum construction is expected to begin in 2026.

“I won’t be able to experience the track myself, but I’m just happy that future programs will be able to use it to their advantage,” senior Dan Cipriano said. “It’s really good for the community.”

Larry Hoolihan was the track and field coach in Spring Valley in the 1980s and his children, Sean Hoolihan, Briana Baier and Brady Hoolihan are now involved in coaching the program. Baier’s son Colin Anderson is also a coach on the staff. The effort to get a track dates all the way back to Larry’s coaching days and has continued on.

“It’s one of the greatest things for our track program to actually be able to have the resources that we’ve needed for the past 50 years,” Baier said. “This really kind of means a lot to us because we know [Larry] wanted it and now it’s finally here.”

Baier’s son Colin was on the relay team that finished fourth at State for Spring Valley in 2022. She felt they may have reached even higher heights with a track to practice on daily.

“I’ve been trying for 35 years to get a track here, since I was 15,” Sean Hoolihan said.

The Cardinals are unanimously excited, even those who will graduate by the time it is ready to go.

“I think it will minimize on injuries and honestly help out our program,” senior Isabella Stein said. “We’re already showing pretty good stats without a track.”

“It gives me so many more opportunities to excel at what I have the passion for,” freshman Jada Hoolihan said. “Without having the track, I don’t have the resources that I need for the events that I want to be my best at.”

Baier is excited to see what the team brings to the table this year, featuring a lot of underclassmen talent that can eventually grow to support the upperclassmen and make some noise.

The team is noticeably large this season. While this brings a lot of positives to the team, there are also some drawbacks. Sean Hoolihan said individuals will not compete in the quantity of events they usually can.

“We’ll not be as good early on as we will later on because we get our track meets in,” Sean Hoolihan said. “Just having that time on a track is good, especially for our long jump, triple jump, our relays.”

They may not be able to practice their exact handoff timing or run as often in spikes as the others, but it’s the heart that has kept the team competitive.

“I think it’s just our work ethic and how we always get in there and do our stuff,” sophomore Asher Turner said.

“I think it shows a lot of heart from our athletes,” senior RaeAnn Traynor said. “That passion for a sport without having a track.”

“All of us just need to come out and give it our all in practice and outside of practice,” senior Isabella Stein said. “Coming out and doing everything we can without our resources kind of just shows how dedicated we are.”

The Cardinals sometimes hold a “fun day Friday” the day after meets. The most recent Friday the athletes ran disc throwing relays, building teamwork while still running. They do this to avoid practice getting monotonous, keeping the energy high.

“We’re going to run down to the fire hall and back or we’re going to be back here and running hills,” Baier said. “Right now they’re having fun and not really knowing that they’re running.”