Kamen Kaleb ’25 leads the Track and Field team through his dedication to the sport, making sure to engage with each and every member of the Track and Field team. By continuously setting high standards for himself, Kaleb’s goal is to inspire the rest of the team to follow his example.
While it’s Kaleb’s first year as Co-Captain, he noted how being on the team in previous years and his past Co-Captains’ leadership was instrumental in shaping his own. He now is able to lead the team with spirit and motivation.
“One way I’ve been able to lead is with my positive and encouraging attitude in training and occasionally during meets as well. In my younger years on this team, I always tried to hang out around athletes who I thought were more mature and were better leaders than me. At the time, I just did it because I thought they were cool, nice, or funny, but now I realize how influential all those people were to me becoming a better leader and a better teammate. For example, last year the Captains led a small group of athletes through fall training for Indoor track. As someone who was still quite on the fence about whether or not I really wanted to commit to the sport, this term was one of my favorites ever because not only was I able to spend my afternoons working out with my friends, but I learned so much about track, building good habits, and becoming a better leader from the leaders of that group,” said Kaleb.
Kaleb’s energy is a big inspiration to all his teammates, along with his commitment to the team and the sport. Kishan Clarke ’26 highlighted his confidence and ability to perform under pressure.
Clarke said, “I also do high jump as well, which Kamen specializes in. He’s someone that you can turn to and ask for questions. He’s someone who’s not afraid to lead, he doesn’t get nervous. I mean, obviously he does sometimes, but he can perform while being nervous, be confident while being nervous. He also boosts the team spirit, or the high jump team spirit by just being a welcoming and confident guy.”
Kaleb emphasized his efforts to connect the team and remind his teammates that while scores are important, so is the team aspect of Track and Field. He shared his hopes to help his teammates grow by finding enjoyment in the sport and create that culture through his role as a Co-Captain.
“With our team being so good, it’s easy to solely focus on winning and getting better and forget about the fact that this team is a family. Obviously, winning is important and I want all my teammates to better themselves whether it be for the team or for themselves, but expecting everyone to only want to get better and not get any enjoyment out of each practice and each meet would only stunt our growth. I believe that if you try to dedicate all your energy to something you care for, you will be able to go so much farther than if you put the same amount of effort into something you care less about. The reason I became Captain is because I think that I can give that sort of attitude to my teammates and help us all get better together while enjoying ourselves in the process,” said Kaleb.
Grayson Flynn ’26 commended Kaleb’s supportive leadership. He noted that in addition to being helpful within high jump, he’s always checking in with other athletes about their own events with individualized attention.
“I’ve heard that he is a big leader in the high jump, just helping everyone out. Just a good friendly guy on the team, a very welcoming guy. He’s good to talk to. He knows a good amount about track… Always cheers people on. He’ll ask you how your practice went and such. After the fact, he always checks on everyone and in general encourages everyone on the team to do better than what they can do,” said Flynn.
As the sole Upper Co-Captain, Kaleb noted that this year can serve as a learning opportunity. He shared that even if he doesn’t continue his role as Co-Captain, he knows that what he learns as one now will help him as a leader on the team in the future.
“After this year, I will have one more year as a track and field member. This year I want to learn as much as I can while still providing a positive environment for all athletes to progress. Next year, I want to put everything I learned to use and make it the perfect season for my fellow Captains, my teammates, and myself. As someone who is Captain this year, whether I’m Captain next year or not doesn’t change the fact that I will have more people looking to me for leadership. So, while I want to be able to make this season the best it can possibly be, whatever mistakes I make this year I can turn into learning opportunities for the next,” said Kaleb.
