LAPEL — Once the indoor portion of track season wraps up, Lapel senior Hunter Loller is looking forward to getting back outdoors and competing. This won’t surprise anyone who knows him.

He plans on spending most of the rest of his life outdoors.

Loller participates in all manner of outdoor sporting activities, in addition to running for the Lapel track and field team. He enjoys hiking, fishing and backpacking, but it was hunting that provided him with one of the biggest thrills of his life. He bagged a 12-point buck in northern Indiana on Nov. 5, a date he won’t soon forget.

“For me, as a sportsman, it was like qualifying for state and winning,” he said. “It’s hard for people who don’t hunt to comprehend that, but it was a huge deal to me. It honestly made my senior year. I’ll never forget; it could easily be the biggest deer of my life.”

Loller said while he isn’t a trophy hunter, he’ll be making an exception for this animal. He said the head is at the taxidermist to prepare for mounting, and the meat provided by the deer filled the family freezer at home.

“When we first found him after trailing him, I thought, ‘Wow, I got a moose,’” he said. “It wasn’t a typical deer — it was huge.”

Next fall, Loller will be attending Anderson University, where he will study an area that focuses on, yes, the outdoors. He wants to make a career out of being outdoors as a conservation officer.

“They want either 60 hours towards a degree or four years of military experience,” he said. “Because I like the outdoors so much, I plan on majoring in environmental biology. If I don’t get in as a conservation officer right away — it’s very competitive — I’ll do something related in the field, like with the Department of Natural Resources.”

The Bulldog sprinter is entering his final season coming off a year of regional qualifications in the 100- meter dash, in which he finished 14th, and as part of the 4X400 relay team that placed 13th.

He is hoping to build on that success this season.

“I was competitive last year, but I didn’t have the experience to be as competitive as I wanted to be,” he said. “But now, I know how to approach running two trials and four events in one meet or just focusing on powering out of the blocks for that one race.”

For Hunter, running track and field for Lapel is also a chance for some added family time. His mother, Krista, is the girls’ head coach, and his younger sister, sophomore Noelle, is a distance runner for the girls team. He loves running track, but having them around makes it just a little better.

“Sometimes, I think it’s a curse and sometimes it’s a blessing,” he said. “At the end of the day, I’m glad for it. I’m happy we can be together. Obviously, my mom pushes my sister and I — she wants us to do really well. Whether I’m first or last, I still love being around the competitors, and being there with family members makes it even better.”