An athletic hallway is adorned with the Midway Raiders emblems.

An athletic hallway is adorned with the Midway Raiders emblems.

<p>A doorway bears new Midway colors.</p>

A doorway bears new Midway colors.

<p>New ‘MHS’ signs hang in the gymnasium.</p>

New ‘MHS’ signs hang in the gymnasium.

<p>A new ‘M’ has been painted on the football field.</p>

A new ‘M’ has been painted on the football field.

<p>New signage wraps the fencing around the Midway football field and track.</p>

New signage wraps the fencing around the Midway football field and track.

<p>New signage wraps the fencing around the Midway football field and track.</p>

New signage wraps the fencing around the Midway football field and track.

When the Midway Raiders athletics teams return to the gym and to the field sometime in the near future, their athletic facilities will have some slightly new looks to them.

During the summer offseason — and an extended break thanks to COVID-19 — Midway added some new logos and decals to spruce up their venues. Inside Tommy Sloan Stadium on the football field and around the track, Midway has added some signage along the fencing as well as painting their signature “M” along the 50-yard line. Indoors, they have added painting along a wall and doorway near the gym entrance. And, in the gym itself the Raiders have hoisted “MHS” lettering along the walls between the acoustic panels.

Athletic Director Aaron Lane discussed the changes that are taking place and the excitement about the new additions to Midway’s athletic facilities.

“I’m excited about the facility upgrades we’ve been able to accomplish this summer at Midway. When I arrived, I met with our staff and immediately created a vision board for our athletic department. On that vision board were many athletic facility upgrades and enhancements that would benefit the aesthetics and bring pride to our athletic facilities from our players, coaches, and community,” he shared. “Along with creating a vision board, we also created a slogan for our athletic department that would embody who we are and the standard that we follow day in and day out.”

”The Raider Way is who we are and the has invigorated our athletic department from top to bottom to set a standard of excellence from top to bottom,” Lane continued. “It is my hope that through the facilities enhancements and forward vision of our athletic department, that we give our kids the very best experience while they are student-athletes at Midway High School.”

This past week, Midway began athletic workouts across three sports: men’s soccer, cross country, and JV and varsity football. Currently, cross country and volleyball are the only sports that will be played this fall, with each kicking practices off on Nov. 4 and having first competitions being Nov. 16.

First soccer practice will be on Jan. 11 and football will kick off Feb. 8.

Lane shared that he is looking forward to having the athletes return to school and hopes that the return to some sort of normalcy continues.

“I’m excited to see our kids back this week participating in athletics,” Lane stated. “Through the many changes, challenges, and uncertainties over the last few months, we knew it was imperative to get our kids back to athletics. Athletics is vital to our student-athletes, coaches, and community, and having them back has brought energy and excitement to our campus. I am thankful for the NCHSAA’s push to return to athletics and am grateful to our Sampson County Board of Education for allowing us to bring our kids back on campus.”

Reach Sports Editor Daron Barefoot at [email protected].