GAYVILLE — The votes are in, and Gayville-Volin’s dream of a new track is a big step closer to reality.

After receiving more than 51,000 votes in a three-week period, Gayville-Volin secured a $25,000 grant from State Farm to help construct a new track.

The Gayville-Volin track came in third out of the 200 finalists.

“We applied for the grant last year, but were not one of the top 200 finalists to be chosen,” said Amy Gustad, who helped promote the cause throughout the community. “With this grant, we are closer to reaching our fundraising goal and making the project a      reality.”

Gayville-Volin is still working towards its goal of $350,000, and this grant gets them closer to that goal.

“We are hopeful to break ground this spring, with the project being completed in the fall,” Gustad said. “We have enough money to get started, and some future fundraising events we have planned should get us close to our fundraising goal.”

Fundraising events planned include a golf tournament and fun run. Officials are also planning a “Track-A-Palooza” event in the fall, which is slated to be their biggest fundraising event remaining. The “Track-A-Palooza” event will feature raffle items, and a live and silent auction.

“We’re also looking for donations from members of the community to help us reach our goal,” Gustad said. “We have never had a track in Gayville, despite having strong cross country and track and field programs at the school. We’re hoping building a track gets more people excited about the program.”

She added that the track will also help promote a healthy lifestyle within the community, and older residents can use it for exercise. The track will also be used by gym classes throughout the school day.

“Right now, kids are training on the streets surrounding Gayville, and the roads are torn up because crews have been doing work on them,” Gustad said. “It’s not a safe environment for kids to be training on. Oftentimes when middle school kids go to track meets, for some of them it’s the first time they’ve ever stepped on a track.”

You can follow Andrew Atwal on Twitter at twitter.com/andrewatwal