The Higbee track & field program has the chance to win up to $50,000 and needs the public’s help. Coach Adam McCauley submitted a video entry, which was chosen as one of 10 national finalists in the SoFi Game Changers Challenge.

The Higbee school district is home to approximately 230 students in a town of 459 people, according to the U. S. Census Bureau. Despite sending multiple athletes to the state meet, the Tigers do not currently have track & field facilities.

The program with the most votes will receive $50,000. The next five with the highest vote totals each receive $10,000. Voting opened Tuesday and runs through Monday, November 4. Each person may vote once a day online by going to sofigamechangers.com. The winners will be announced on November 27.

“This is my first year here at Higbee and we are putting all hands on deck to try to elevate this program,” McCauley said. “They’ve had a lot of success at the state level for not even having proper facilities. I would love to invest in these students’ futures.”

The video submission was created by Higbee senior Joey Westfall and shows how the team has to get creative to train, even using the shredded tires surface on the playground as a long jump pit.

“As a coach, I never want to see athletes get hurt,” McCauley said. “That sounds like an injury waiting to happen. What’s awesome is that they have had great success in the jumping events, so there’s no telling how far they could go with proper facilities.”

McCauley said that if Higbee wins the $50,000 prize, the district would begin allocating funds to build a track. A $10,000 prize would go toward the construction of a long/triple jump runway and sand pit, and throwers rings.

“One of our goals is to be one of the few Class 1 schools to have pole vault. Earning this prize could make that dream a reality,” McCauley said.

SoFi Technologies, Inc., a nationally chartered bank with almost $25 billion in assets, was started at Stanford University with shares now traded publicly on the NASDAQ (SOFI). The SoFi Game Changers Challenge is a nationwide contest that will award $100,000 in grants to public high school sports programs. The challenge is a partnership with Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert, with the goal to support underfunded sports programs.

“We have sent numerous athletes to state in track and field with no track and field facilities,” said Higbee Superintendent Tanner Burton. Most recently, sophomore Ronnie Welch placed third in the state in the Class 1 high jump in May.