Part of the journey is the end.

And The Classical Academy track and field team closed the season with a bang.

The boys earned the Class 3A state track and field title — their sixth in school history — and scored 109 points — 41.50 points more than Resurrection Christian, which placed second with 67.50 points.

The TCA girls finished as runners-up with 77 points.

“I’m very satisfied with how this season went,” said Classical Academy coach Tim Daggett. “To get the title for the boys and do so in convincing fashion is great. One of our team goals each year is to walk off the track feeling like we did our best and we felt as a team, for the guys and girls, that we’re able to do that this year.”

For the boys, this accomplishment serves as a sigh of relief and ends a stretch of multiple runners-up plaques.

The Titans boys placed second in 2022, 2021, 2018 and 2017 with three finishes decided by fewer than 10 points.

In 2022, TCA finished eight points

behind first; in 2021, the Titans placed two points behind Resurrection Christian and in 2018, Classical Academy fell 6.5 points behind Bayfield.

“To get this done for the boys and to feel like they broke through and finished it is special,” Daggett said.

From 2016-18, the Titan girls achieved a three-peat and placed second in 2019 with 106 points, three shy of first place Lutheran, which scored 109.

Daggett said injuries stymied the Titans boys during their streak of second-place finishes.

This season, however, the culmination of surmounting obstacles allowed the boys to achieve their goal and helped the girls nearly win their 12th track and field title.

“You want to teach kids to persevere through adversity and work hard and that was rewarded this year,” Daggett said. “It’s almost never linear where a kid shows up, they dominate and get better and better and that’s it. It’s always the ups and downs of the journey and their personal stories of overcoming things.”

As athletes continue to buy into the Titans’ program and vie for meet victories and state titles, consistency remains key in attracting solid competitors.

“Tim and the staff have built something that kids want to be a part of,” said assistant coach Matthew Norton. “Participation rates at our school is high and we get a lot of great athletes from other sports at the school. The pieces are generally there to go after team titles.”

As athletes recuperate and train over the summer, coaches expect that athletes will maintain their fuel that propelled the Titans to a title and second place this season.

“I hope they enjoyed the ride,” Norton said. “I hope they come in next year feeling they want to take another shot [at a state title] and enjoy the process along the way. The amount of time you spend preparing and planning and working toward the goal is way more than the state meet. You have to enjoy the process and I hope that they do.” | | 3 The Tribune Wednesday, May 31, 2023

MARCUS HILL, THE TRIBUNE The Classical Academy’s Aaron Johnson leans as he passes the finish line the Class 3A boys 4x200 relay finals on May 19 at Jefferson County Stadium in Lakewood during the state track and field meet.