This spring, Branson track and field no longer has an attendance requirement of three times a week, opening the sport to more athletes. 

Head coach Holly St. John said, “For track, we eliminated our attendance requirement so really the athlete can come as often as they want. But they have to show commitment to the sport.”

To demonstrate commitment, students have to attend practices regularly and compete if they want to receive credit.

St. John believes removing this attendance benefits people new to the sport. 

“At least they’re experiencing it so they can decide if maybe that’s something they want to pursue in the future,” she said.

Anya Sridharan ‘28, who is on varsity track and field, was able to participate in track this year despite her commitment to club soccer outside of Branson.

“It’s been really great,” she said. “I came into it thinking that I wasn’t really going to be a part of it and just come for the workout, but now I’ve been to all the meets and met a lot of new people.”

While most people in track still choose to compete, the new rule allows some students to train with the team solely for workouts. 

“I think it’s good that we don’t have an attendance rule because the people who want to be committed can come to all of them and also get to participate. But if you don’t then it’s just good to get a workout,” Sridharan said. 

However, this new rule has presented some challenges. 

“If they miss out on Tuesdays, Thursdays [or] Saturdays, that’s when we have our technical coaches,” said St. John. “So, if you’re doing something like high jump, long jump, triple jump, discus, hurdles [or] shot put, those are super technical. If you don’t have that coach working with you because you missed those days, then you really miss that opportunity.”

Sridharan runs the 4×100 relay race, and relay handoffs are another skill that is practiced on technical days. Sridharan highlighted some of the challenges her team has faced so far in the season. 

“We had somebody who wasn’t there last Tuesday and she wasn’t able to participate in the meet because she didn’t get to practice the handoff, so it’s really important that we have everyone there,” she said.

Nonetheless, St. John is happy with the team. 

“I am so pleased with the track and field team this year,” she said. “We are getting some seniors who have never, ever done track and field and they’re loving it.”

“I think that track is a great way to meet people, especially if you’re a freshman. Even if you’re not, I know a lot of people who joined as juniors and you make a lot of upperclassmen friends which is one of the best parts. It really feels like a community,” Sridharan said.

St. John believes there are also other reasons besides the new rule change that has expanded the team this year, one being the team’s captains, Imogen Brown ‘25, Jasper James ‘25, Nyanza Ngongoseke ‘26 and Sadie Winter ‘26.

“I also think the reason we are getting a lot more students is because our captains are so amazing,” she said. “Our captains have been going out and recruiting … people to come in, and they’ve been doing it a lot … because these captains love the sport so much.”