The Napa and Vintage high school track and field teams are each without a track and field.

Each school broke ground on the soon-to-be fabulous tracks on March 24 during spring break. Things were scheduled to begin March 31 but construction crews took advantage of the kids being on break and out of their way.

By next fall the rival schools will finally have state-of-the-art, all-weather tracks to host their home meets. The center of each track will have synthetic turf, as well as a sanded pit for the long- and triple-jumps and throwing areas for shotput and discus.

Both schools have utilized Harvest Middle School’s all-weather track for home meets for several years. But now the Indians and Crushers are switching off weeks to practice there as well.

“In an ideal situation I would have loved for them to wait for track to be over, but I understand them wanting to get it done before school gets back in,” Vintage head track and field coach Mark Dunn said.

“In the long run I think we’re going to have a beautiful facility like our swimming pool. Cosmetically it will look a lot better. It will bring the Vintage community a lot closer together by having everything there on the campus. Sometimes you have to make sacrifices.”

The two schools didn’t have much wiggle room with when construction would start. It’s a four- to five-month process, so regardless of when crews were there, students would have been affected.

“Change is going to improve things,” Napa athletic director Brian King said. “You just gotta suck it up. This is just the way it’s got to be. (Track and field coach) Phil (Hansell) has been fantastic. It’s his first year and we’ve thrown this on his lap. Just wait until it’s all done and it will be worth it.”

Vintage’s girls soccer teams are still practicing on campus, as they have a bit more space than Napa. The Indians soccer teams already practice at Valley Oak, behind Memorial Stadium.

If crews would have broken ground after the track season, construction would have affected three football teams and two soccer teams at each school this fall. Essentially the administrators were trying to disrupt the least amount of kids possible and also coordinate with Mother Nature.

Napa recently struck a deal with West Park Elementary for the Indians to practice there when they’re not at Harvest. And fortunately, West Park is only a hop, skip and a jump away from Napa, so the Indians jog over for their warm-up.

“We are thrilled,” West Park Elementary principal Julie Herdell said. “It’s encouraging physical education. It shows our community that we do work together. We want what is best for students — anything to encourage athletes, and keep their bodies busy and minds engaged.”

Different practice locations on different days have caused a lack of focus for some of the athletes.

For the remainder of the season Vintage is splitting practices between Harvest and Redwood. The Crushers have to wait until 4:30 p.m. because the middle schools’ track and field teams need their own space. The conditions at Redwood haven’t been conducive to good practices.

“It’s affected us quite a bit,” Dunn admitted. “Redwood has a place to throw the shot but not the disc. The track at Redwood isn’t very safe as far as I’m concerned, so my runners are on the basketball courts. My hurdlers are in the parking lot. The only real bad thing about that is we’re starting to get a lot of shin splints. But we have to adapt. We’re looking at the big picture.”

Vintage athletic director Dave Shipp said shin splints were a problem on the Crushers’ own track, as its surface was similar to asphalt as far as how hard it was.

“I think here is one of those situations, you have to look at the big picture and the light at the end of the tunnel,” Shipp said. “When this is done, we’re going to have a beautiful facility.

“Mark and I have had some great talks. They’ve just taken this on as a challenge. They’ve come up with some great drills that maybe they didn’t come up with before. That’s the attitude you have to take. You make due knowing, this time next year, this is going to be beautiful.”

The underclassmen and juniors are thinking that way, but it’s a tad tougher for the seniors who won’t be able to revel in the glory of new facilities.

“It’s inconvenient but they’re kind of just rolling with the punches,” Napa head track and field coach Phil Hansell said. “We’re making fun of the inconvenience and the routine. There’s only so much you can do. For the younger kids, we’re trying to emphasize how great it’s going to be next year.”

True, you have to live in the moment, but the light at the end of the tunnel is bright, so chin up.

Napa and Vintage will meet on Wednesday in the track and field version of the Big Game — the Big Meet? — at Harvest Middle School at 3:30 p.m.

E-mail Sports Writer Erin Lawley at elawley@napanews. com or call her at 256-2212.