Fresh into the new season, the men’s and women’s track and field players are prepared to race their opponents to the finish line.

The season began Feb. 9 and the team has already received high scores in a number of events at a meet at Pasadena City College, according to a Track and Field EC report.

“Our training started back in September offseason,” Coach Dean Lofgren said.

This season, the men’s and women’s track and field teams are training at Compton because the facility at EC is under construction, Lofgren said.

“We can use that facility for free because it is part of EC and is under EC authority; also, we have an agreement with North High School that we are working on,” Lofgren added.

The track and field team competes in 17 different events during their meets which includes jumpers, distance runners, sprints, and relays.

The coach is working on developing the runners’ skills as well as preparing them to transfer to a university.

Half of the players from last season have transferred, allowing several newcomers to join the team and contribute to its success, Lofgren said.

The primary goal is to help the freshmen and sophomores. Lofgren wants them to become better track and field athletes as well as do extremely well academically.

Tomas Snur, 19 years old, is a new runner for the team this season with goals set in mind.

“I want to run faster than I did in high school,” Snur said. “I want to break my scores from high school.”

With 30 years of coaching experience, Lofgren is learning new things every season.

“We learned to adjust with the changing of the times without sacrificing our academic and athletic standards,” Lofgren said.