New Hanover track star Meagan Lundin hopes to inspire lady Wildcats

Somewhere on an undersized track behind a middle school, the New Hanover High School track and field team is practicing.

For years, the Wildcats have sported New Hanover County's smallest track and field program. With no home track, all of the team's meets are away, and with no revenue from tickets or concessions, they can't afford the equipment necessary to practice for field events like pole vault.

Despite those obstacles, the Wildcats have presented a string of conference champions over the past few years, none more accomplished than senior Meagan Lundin.

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The 2021 StarNews All-Area Girls Track and Field Athlete of the Year as a freshman, Lundin was forced to sit out her entire sophomore season due to a leg injury. The Navy heptathlon signee burst back onto the scene last spring, claiming 24 MEC first-place finishes and four conference titles.

Although admittedly challenging, trusting the process paid off.

"I thought it was the end of the world," Lundin said of learning that a stress reaction in her foot would keep her sideline for her sophomore season. "It was really hard at first, but I ended up having a good experience."

Lundin spent time coaching while injured before returning to the track in 2023, picking up right where she left off in her freshman season by claiming first-place victories in almost every event she competed in.

Her success comes despite a bevy of hurdles to competing in track and field at New Hanover. The school is the only one in the county without its own track. It borrows the 250-meter, four-lane track from neighboring Williston Middle School.

In addition to the lackluster training grounds, New Hanover only has around 25 girls in the program. While boys basketball and football have thrived at school, sports like softball and track and field are struggling to grow.

"When the county or the school doesn't seem to take the facilities and the program seriously, it's hard for the kids to take it seriously," Meagan's father, New Hanover track and field coach Keith Lundin, said.

With the lack of participation, especially on the girl's side, the Wildcats chances at winning a meet are slim. Teams like Hoggard and Laney have programs that double, if not triple New Hanover, making team victories far and few.

These barriers haven't fazed Lundin, who takes every chance to recruit her classmates at New Hanover to join the program.

"I literally will stop people in the hallway and be like, 'You look fast, will you run track? It's great when we get some girls out here, and we've had some girls that have done a lot as freshmen," she said.

Lundin, who recently announced her commitment to the Navy as a heptathlete, wants to swing big in her final Mideastern Conference championship next week. More importantly, she wants to see the sport she's grown to love flourish as New Hanover.

"I hope over the years that we get some more talk about what our girls are doing, a little more hype for track," she said. "Hopefully (that will) help us get a bigger team out here."

A few lingering injuries have kept the senior from competing at 100% this spring, but she's already cemented her place as one of New Hanover County's best female track and field athletes, a feat she hopes will inspire.

"It's a family out here," she said. "I think we're a great example that just because you're not given the best track or locker rooms, you can do anything you want. I think a lot of our girls don't realize they have the ability to do this."

This article originally appeared on Wilmington StarNews: This New Hanover track star wants to inspire more girls to compete