For the first time in the school's history, Hogan Prep won a boys
championship in a running event, which came in the MSHSAA Class 3
track and field championships.
The Rams won two running titles, Dyimond Walker in the 400-meter dash and the 4x400-meter relay team also won the final running event of the day.
Considering the school doesn't have a track on the campus of the Kansas City school, the feats are even more impressive.
"We run around the school, we run inside the school when we can't run outside," Hogan Prep coach Roosevelt Gipson said. 'We have a shopping center across the street and that area is around 1,000 meters. Honestly, for me, I'm a Hogan alum as well and that is all I've ever known. I never trained on a track or a turf field. We always had second-rate facilities and we never let it bother us. We do a lot of work in our weight room and that helps us build more strength. It's never really a thing I regretted or was upset about. We always managed to be successful without it. Unless you've been to our school you wouldn't know (we don't have a track)."
The charter, formed in 1998 after the previous iteration of Bishop Hogan Catholic closed in 1998, did have a chance to use the top level of HyVee Arena about 10 times during this spring to run on that track - a five lane that was 300 meters.
That will change in the future as the school is building a new facility and in the future the current school building will become a spot for a football stadium and track.
Despite the lack of facilities that many other schools have, the athletes have been able to not only perform well but also rack up high finishes.
Walker, who will run at New Mexico Junior College this upcoming school year, earned all-state honors seven times.
He won the 400-meter dash title (48.44) and added a fourth in the 800 and the triple jump - finishing with a leap of 13.65 meters (44-9 ½).