New surface to go with bleachers, storage and throwing ring

This fall, the field at the Minnehaha Academy Upper School was renovated with a state-of-the-art field surface, as well as new lights and stands.

After giving the field at the Upper School a makeover, Minnehaha Academy announced that it will be redoing the facilities at the Lower School field. There will be new stands and a storage garage, a new ring for shot put as well as the highly requested new track surface that will be going in.

The new track is set to begin renovation this summer, as well as the new additions to the lower school field. Chief Financial & Operating Officer Mike Huray talked about all the renovations that have happened in the past couple of years, as well as putting in new field goal posts, new landscaping, and the fence around the field.

“We’re giving the area a face lift,” he said.

The new track is going to have a polyurethane surface, [see diagram below] which is thicker than the old track and is more absorbent, causing fewer injuries.

The new track will also last longer because it holds us better in the winters. The changes will benefit Minnehaha’s student-athletes, Huray said.

“It’s more of a modern and premier type of surface,” he said. “This is what most colleges use, and it will cause fewer injuries and will be better for competitions.”

The new track has also got many students excited about the changes coming.

“The new track will help at practices because there will be better acceleration and also a smoother track that doesn’t have holes that could cause injuries,” said sophomore Talen Thomas said,

After experiencing the older track for several seasons, senior track and field captain Evan Anderson said the younger athletes will benefit from the change.

“It’s about time that we get a new track,” he said.

According to American Athletic Track and Turf, which produces running tracks, it says that a track surface should be resurfaced every eight to fifteen years. With the track at Minnehaha being in its eleventh year, it was definitely in the window for considering plans to renovate.

The new track will be a game-changer for the track and field team as well as the athletic experience and atmosphere at Minnehaha.

With all the new renovations set to be done by next summer, Minnehaha Academy is set to complete a two-year journey of all the construction around both Minnehaha fields across the South and North campuses.