Milton Academy’s 2026 Track and Field season hit the finish line, bringing success to the Mustangs once again. Athletes dominated in meets all across the season, hit new PRs, set school records, and won the ISLs for the first time in 25 years.
Talent makes a difference, but team culture brings this talent together. Girls’ Varsity Track Head Coach Christopher Lewis admits, “I got lucky [to be] completely honest” with the team that came together this year. Mason Porter ’26, a track captain who prioritized team culture, organized fun events like running flash mobs on the traditional campus loop each Friday. Porter described the support of her teammates: “As a distance runner, there is never a lap I run without someone from sprints or throws cheering me on.” Esme Campbell ’26, another track captain, reiterated that, “While track can definitely feel very individual… having moments that unite the team—like always warming up or stretching together at the start of practice and coming together on Fridays, pre-meet, to focus our energy on team bonding games—made a big team feel much tighter-knit this season.” What truly united the team was support through difficulty. At the very beginning of the season, Lewis “really wanted the kids to understand [and] enjoy the grind that is track.”
Leading such a large team proves difficult for one person, so for this season, a number of team leaders emerged. Lewis reflected on this year’s captains: “from a student perspective, the four captains were incredible. Some of the best captains I’ve ever worked with.” Lewis also praised Boys’ Varsity Track Head Coach Jill Wilder, who supported Lewis for him from a coaching standpoint. Ella Banning ’29, a new runner this year, explained that “all the captains [were leaders].” Campbell emphasized, “I think my main role as captain has been trying to lead by example. I always try to put my best foot forward and work hard.” Campbell added, “I [also] try to remind teammates that what we do outside of practice to take care of ourselves and recover is almost equally as important.”
Banning explained that she will miss the members of the Class of 2026 on the track team dearly: “I don’t think words can even describe how much I’m going [to] miss them.” Lewis explained that the captains were “each incredibly valuable assets from a talent perspective,” but that the incoming talent and members of this year’s JV track team, who won JV ISLs, reassure him about the future of the team. Lewis said, “[the JV’s success] tells me that the next crop of kids coming up are well suited to actually take those reins.” Lewis continued, “All I care about is making sure the culture of the team remains really, really strong and supportive, and I am 100% certain that’s gonna be the case.”
To Lewis, seeing “kids get personal records, [seeing] kids feel faster, feel stronger, feel more confident,” is a victory in itself. However, Porter reported that the team was proud to have conquered their “shared goal,” an ISL victory. “I remember being at ISLs on the day and watching [the team] cheer for each other. [I watched] them check in with teammates [and] console [friends] after races.” Lewis humbly summarized, “we just happened to win, but the wins were happening.”