“South Whidbey’s hurdling prospects don’t look good until you realize that athletes are going UNDER the hurdles as part of their conditioning routine. Starting training is Samantha Watson, a veteran senior tracksterJim Larsen, staff photosAlthough the calendar says it’s still winter, spring sports started last week for South Whidbey High School athletes.Early in the week, the skies disagreed with the calendar. The sun was shining, the breeze was still, and athletes exercised under a cloudless blue canopy.But by Thursday, the calendar and weather coincided. The winds pushed in the rain clouds and those in the more weather-dependent sports headed indoors to practice. Whether indoors or outdoors, the athletes had to practice, because they have only until mid-March before their 2001 seasons begin.The athletic fields are the place to be in the spring. There’s a sport for every interest and ability: Boys soccer, girls tennis, baseball, fastpitch, boys and girls golf, and boys and girls track.The exact number of people turning out wasn’t immediately available from athletic director John Patton, but if the track team is any indication sports are growing in popularity as an after-school activity.Dean Hatt, one of many assistants helping head coach Mike McInerney in track, said 65 athletes came out for track this spring. That’s up about 20 from prior years. As he was putting the sprinters through grueling, hurdle-related exercises, Hatt theorized that athletes are attracted by success.Last year both the boys and girls track teams won their conference championships. This is our biggest squad in the last six or seven years, Hatt said. The kids are having a lot of success.The track athletes are preparing for a jamboree on March 15 which will be their first chance to gauge the competition this year. All spring sports are scheduled to be previewed in the March 10 issue of The South Whidbey Record. “