More than 1,000 students from across the Rochester City School District showed off their talents on the track on Wednesday.

It was part of the annual Nick Zona Track Meet that honors the former director of health, physical education and athletics and Section V president.

Students spent weeks training for their events in the track unit during gym class.

"We need to celebrate kids more and what they can achieve when they put their minds to it," said Chris Corey, RCSD director of health, physical education and athletics. "And with the help of our physical educators, they're really achieving at great levels. And to see them out here is a reward."

Zona was known as one of the area’s top football coaches and honored as one of the country’s top athletic directors.

"So exposing them to track and field early [and] giving them a taste of what a track meet is going to feel like when they get to middle school and high school, we hope kids walk out of here and be like, 'Man, I want to do that,'" Corey said. "Or they think, 'I can jump pretty high or run pretty fast and I want to get better at it as I go.'"