With practices set to begin this week for high school spring sports, athletes are beginning their preparation in hopes of having successful seasons on the field, diamond and track.

But Parkland senior Joey Hawkins, a hurdler on the Trojans' track and field team, has been gearing up for the upcoming high school season during much of the offseason.

In addition to training with coach Jason Kremus throughout the winter, Hawkins participates in indoor track and field in the off months. He most recently qualified for the semifinals of the state indoor track meet at Penn State University by running the 60-meter hurdles in 8.38 seconds before injuring his hamstring.

"It's been good," Hawkins said of the indoor season. "I've just been getting extra practice in for the outdoor season and seeing where I'm at."

Hawkins entered the meet ranked as the 15th hurdler in the state with a time of 8.51 seconds. He then ran a season-best mark in the first heat, but his run towards the finals came up short due to unfortunate circumstances.

Results from Hawkins' MRI not yet available. He estimated, however, that the hamstring strain would keep him out for roughly four weeks.

While he won't be able to race any time in the near future, his time at states was fast enough to qualify him for the New Balance High School Nationals in New York City.

"It was kind of a bummer because I would have made the finals," Hawkins said. "I qualified for nationals, so my goals were kind of met so to speak."

Come the high school season, Hawkins runs both the 110- and 300-meter hurdles. He placed eighth in the 110 hurdles in last season's District 11 Class AAA Track and Field Championships, while taking fourth in the 300 hurdles. He was a few places away from qualifying for states.

In his final season, Hawkins is hoping to make that jump this spring into the PIAA meet after another offseason of hard work and dedication.

"One of my goals is to make it to states for both 110s and 300s," Hawkins said. "I'm just working more on my form basically. I'm perfecting it and getting more endurance workouts in to stay in shape."