While indoor track is not an official TCAPS sport, many high school athletes take advantage of the Michigan Indoor Track Series (MITS), a program of indoor meets hosted by some of Michigan’s colleges across the state.
This indoor track series, which goes from December through February, is an amazing opportunity for athletes to grow and build their skills through the winter months. It is also a chance to improve times and train before outdoor track and possibly meet college scouts. It is not a school-affiliated sport, so some student athletes participate through a new program sponsored by the Traverse City Track Club. Others sign up and participate individually.
The meets take place at colleges downstate, such as Grand Valley State University in Grand Rapids and Saginaw Valley State University in Saginaw, in the same facilities that the college athletes use. The meets are hosted by the schools’ Track and Field teams in order to raise money for their collegiate programs. Many college team athletes are at the meets, helping to sign people in, check equipment and run the events.
Aaryn Stallworth, a senior at West who specializes in hurdles (110, 300 and 60 meter) and sprints (100 and 400 meter dash), has been participating in the indoor track series since winter of his sixth grade year.
“I have been running for like 8 or 9 years. There’s a lot of good competition there. So you’re running against a lot of good kids,” Stallworth said.
The program attracts students and running clubs from all over Michigan, out of state and even Canada. Though there are heats available for all levels of experience and skill and running times, MITS also hosts elite competitions during the meets that are motivational and inspiring to watch.
Reese Smith, another West runner in her senior year, participated last winter and is planning to do it again this winter. She competes in the 800 meter race and the 400 meter dash. “I want to continue because I like to meet new people that I wouldn’t normally meet on my own team,” Smith said.
Amy SixKing, a teacher at West Middle School where she has coached either cross country or track since 1997, is helping set up an indoor track club for seven students in the Traverse City area so they can participate more easily in the MITS events, since they are mostly downstate. “The purpose of indoor track is to keep the kids interested in track and expose them to some of the indoor meets offered by colleges,” SixKing said.
“I want athletes to be able to check out the facilities and just keep them running in the off-season, while also being with friends, which makes it so much fun.”
![“[She is First will] do the craft show which is in the fall at West it’s run in like the commons and some of the class wings and we usually just make stuff or we sell baked goods so it’s kind of like a combination of ornaments for Christmas and then just different like knickknacks and stuff that students make and then like cookies,” Polk said.](https://wshoccidentalist.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/New-club-leaders-she-is-the-first--1200x900.jpg)
