Ipswich is home to many extremely talented athletes, individuals who can push themselves far beyond the limits of most other people and achieve feats which set them apart from average athletes. All athletes push themselves to be better in the sport they participate in, but only the best athletes will find themselves pushing farther than anyone else. One particular athlete has been pushing himself since the beginning of the school year, setting one school record and chasing another.

Colin Hansen, a senior at Ipswich High School, is one of the captains of the track team, mostly competing in sprints such as the 300 meter dash. His career started in sixth grade when he signed up for spring track  after his mother brought him to long-distance races. As he progressed in his career, Colin switched from long distance to sprints, stating, “I started from like the 5K distance down to sprinting over time, which I found myself at.” On December 10th, 2022, Colin went to a meet and competed in the 300 meter sprint. He finished it in 36.35 seconds, setting a new school record for the 300 meter dash. He is happy that he broke the record, but he is also chasing other record times to beat such as the indoor 4×200 relay, 4×400 relay, and 600 meter sprint.

For the outdoor track season, he hopes to break the records for the 4×200 and 4×400 outdoor. When asked specifically about the 600 meter sprint, Colin shared, “I have a meet next week; that’s my goal… try to get under 1:25.05.” If he can get under that time, he will have broken his second indoor track record for 2023, beating Kieran Kinnare’s record from 2011.

When speaking to Colin’s coach, Mr. Binette, he talked about training programs they worked on together, and his own reaction to the records broken. He was shocked when the record was broken since it had been standing since 2006 and Colin beat it on his first attempt. “I knew he was going to be close to it, but I was pretty surprised he did it on the first meet, which was pretty cool,” Binette remarked. He has high hopes for the next meet where Colin will attempt to break the 600 Meter Sprint school record.

Mr. Binette has enjoyed working with Colin for the past three years, claiming he is “pretty motivated” and “easy to train”. He explained how Colin’s always training and that the biggest obstacle is “telling him to settle down and understand when it’s time to rest.” We will continue to watch as Colin tears through the IHS track records, taking as many titles as he can before graduating.