By MK Myers

Including 170 athletes, the Collegiate spring track & field team has always been one of the largest sports team at Collegiate. Consisting of a variety of events, such as pole vault, sprints, jumps, throws, hurdles, and distance running, there is something for everyone.

The track team includes 7th-12th graders, and every day at practice you have the opportunity to hang out with your friends that you might not see during the regular school day. In addition to daily practice, athletes compete in meets on Wednesdays and Saturdays.

2022 Indoor VISAA Championship. Photo credit: Corbin Neuner.

One of the most important parts of the track team is the coaching staff. Without them, the program wouldn’t be possible. The coaching staff does everything, from hosting meets and planning workouts to supporting athletes through their injuries and taking small groups to weekend invitationals.

Matthew Richardson (’07), the Collegiate track & field program leader and the head distance coach, has been coaching since 2011. He ran cross country and track at Collegiate throughout Upper School as a student. He was also a full-time Collegiate Middle School teacher from 2013 through 2021. “Coach Richardson is a fine example of an all around coach. A perfect balance of passion and understanding of his athletes leads to unprecedented self improvement as runners, but also as people. He has taught me how to win and succeed with humility and how to be graceful in the face of defeat and failure. He has an ability to reach the minds of so many runners with his words at important times during our seasons, and he knows when and when not to use his voice,” said Ian Quindoza (‘22).

Upper School Director of Student Life Beth Kondorossy, the head girls’ track & field coach and the head throwing coach, was a student-athlete at the University of Richmond. She started coaching while in graduate school at VCU, and in 2008 Kondorossy became a full-time employee and coach at Collegiate. “I have never had a coach care so much about their athletes, in a track sense, but more importantly as humans. She gives us tough love to push us to be out best but also understands we have bad days and will plan a whole practice around making us feel better. Everyone has the utmost respect for her, and she is the heart and soul of the track program,” said Molly Woods (‘22).

2021 VISAA Championship. Photo credit: Chris Lucy.

Upper School history teacher Brent Miller (’98), the head boys’ track & field coach and the head sprint coach, ran track at the University of Richmond as an undergraduate. He began coaching at Collegiate while attending graduate school at the Baptist Theological Seminary at Richmond. He coached for a year before moving, where he continued to coach at different schools. However, after moving back to Richmond in 2016, it all came full circle, and he found himself on Collegiate’s track again. “As my advisor and coach, Coach Miller has been extremely supportive and encouraging to all athletes and has truly helped our team grow. He always knows how to put you in the mindset while also calming the pre-race nerves,” said Lauren Lucy (‘22).

Former Middle School English teacher Weldon Bradshaw, an assistant coach on the track & field distance team, has been part of the Collegiate community longer than most people. Soon after becoming a 7th grade English teacher in the Collegiate Boys’ School in 1972, Bradshaw began coaching track and field. He’s coached runners and throwers for 46 years, “the first two as throws coach, the rest either as the head distance coach, assistant distance coach, or head coach.” He started Collegiate’s girls’ cross country program in 1988, which began with four 8th Grade girls and grew over the years. After coaching the boys team for 38 years, 19 of which he was also the head girls coach, Bradshaw stepped away from cross country in 2015 but continued to work with spring track as an assistant distance coach. He is retiring this year after 50 years of service to the school. 

“I have yet to meet anyone quite like Coach Bradshaw. Everything that comes out of his mouth holds a profound wisdom, and every word he says has the power to inspire and motivate. A pep talk from Coach Bradshaw keeps you calm, locked in, and confident in your ability to perform, not only on the track but in every aspect of life. The advice he has given me, along with the dozens upon dozens of young athletes who he has coached over the past fifty years, has helped me grow as a runner and as a person. I could hardly name a man I respect and revere more,” said Hugh Williams (‘22).

Every day at track practice, you will find Upper Schoolers and Middle Schoolers sharing the track. “The range in age of competitors, as well as the comradery that they share, makes track & field at Collegiate special. Track is one of the unique sports where you get that interaction between all ages that are able to participate because we’re all out there together,” said Miller. Kondorossy added, “I think our captains and our athletes do a really good job of making a really big team seem small. I think that takes effort, and I don’t think that’s something that happens easily.”

2022 Spring Track Senior Day. Photo courtesy of Collegiate School.

During practice, the different event groups do their own workouts. However, the team still continues to feel close as whole. “I enjoy kids taking time to appreciate what the other events do, whether it’s sprinters taking a walking lap around the track and stopping by the shotput to see what’s going on, or seeing the distance team do a track workout on the track,” Kondorossy explained, “Although we have very separate groups, they all kind of overlap at some point during practices.”

Practices can be intense, and sometimes workouts can feel quite intimidating. Between mile repeats and 100m workout repeats, you never know what to expect. However, at every practice you will find teammates supporting each other. “What always impresses me the most is the way our athletes come together to do a difficult track workout and execute the workout with focus, and purpose, and an attitude of today I am going to make myself and my teammates better. Everyone supports each other,” said Richardson. Bradshaw added, “it’s seeing people push themselves and do things that maybe they thought they couldn’t do. It’s the whole thing about what you can learn from track that you can carry on through real life.”

As the track & field team headed into the championship season in the last few weeks, including the League of Independent Schools (LIS) and the Virginia Prep League Championship, as well as the Virginia Independent Schools Athletic Association (VISAA) State Championship, their winning mentality continued. “You can only do as well as you can do. You can have the greatest day of your life, and something can run faster or throw farther, so as long as you’ve done with you can do, and you know you’ve left everything on the track, you have to be happy with that,” said Bradshaw. “Heading into championship season, I feel extremely confident in where we are as a team. We have athletes who are always looking for opportunities to step up and find points in places we never expected. That’s the culture. That’s the mentality that exists,” added Richardson.

“From an athletic standpoint, the kids have been really working hard to try and put themselves in a position to help the team; everybody works together, but they have to work on an individual skill to get to that point,” said Miller, “and so it’s a combination between the individual and team component, and you see that on full display during the championship season.”

When asked to describe the Collegiate track & field program, Kondorossy stated, “Wholesome. I would describe it as an umbrella that catches a lot of different raindrops, and I take great pride in it. We have so many coaches on our staff in the winter and the spring that are former Collegiate athletes that came back and are still in the program, some of which who still have records, which I think is really cool.” Richardson added, “Through each practice or competition, the challenges and the successes are experiences that have built some of the best friendships of my life. I think that is a commonality among people who have been a part of the program.” 

2021 LIS Championship. Photo credit: Chris Lucy.

Whether it be new athletes walking onto the track, returning athletes, or Collegiate alumna returning to coach, such as former Coach Gracie White (‘20), Richardson, and Miller, the track & field circle continues to expand. There truly is a sense of family that develops while on the track that keeps you coming back. “Being a coach has been a highlight of my career. It has never gotten tiring, I have never been bored with it. I’ve gotten to the point where it’s time for the younger generation to do some heavy lifting, but it’s why I come back every year. This is year 46 of Collegiate track & field for me, and I get a lot of enjoyment out of it, but it’s more of the connections you make,” explained Bradshaw. 

As a current junior on the team, I can confidently say that track practice is one of the best parts of my day. I look forward to it every day, and I can’t wait to see where the Collegiate track & field team goes in the future.