The Bulldog Track and Field team celebrated their state championship by receiving their championship rings from the previous track season.

“It was pretty cool to see all of our track teams’ hard work play off,” said senior Donovan Bradley of the ring presentation. Bradley now has two championship rings.

Senior David Lopez agrees with his teammate.

“At first I felt like it was going to be a regular day at school and nothing special was going to happen,” Lopez said. “But, once I had opened the case and put on the ring, the feeling was unmatched when I saw how cool the ring came out. The team worked really hard to achieve it.” 

Coach Shelton Ervin says receiving another ring is a “blessing.”

“It was ring number three,” Ervin said. “It’s special because it’s back to back. We went bigger on it, I want to say eight times on the first ring, ten times on the second ring and 12 times on the third ring to commemorate the achievement the guys spent,  the number one team in the nation and the performances they put up in the state meet.” 

Ervin continued to talk about the team’s mindset last year that helped them rise to the top.

“It’s one of the most significant mindframes I’ve seen out of 15, 16, 17-year-olds,” Ervin said of the team. “The guys operated as a mini college program. They wanted to put their performances that were top tier college calibre marks in times and distances and they did just that by just having three guys ranked in the top 25 athletes in the nation of any event. Then having ten guys going Division 1 as far as competing at the next level and continuing the season. The mind frame was very impressive and is something I still think about quite a bit as far as how special that group was.”

As the dust settles on last year’s achievements, it’s easy to think about what comes next, but Ervin said they are still enjoying the back-to-back when asked how the team is preparing to keep its title.

“Big shoes to fill when you’re talking about a three-peat,” Ervin said. “It’s a goal to defend obviously, but we are also looking to build up the young guys and maintain our future of top tier programs in the country and inside the state.” 

The Bulldogs’ next season will start in the Spring semester.