While both the girls and the boys varsity track teams are off to a 0-1 start on the season, the coaches see promise.
‘This is the third year that Coach Matt Johnson has been the head coach and he stocks the program,? said Assistant Coach Andrew McDonald. ‘The first year was transitioning. We had lower numbers than the last two years.?
Because of greater depth, it gives them greater flexibility to move runners around and ‘spread out the points.?
On the girls? side, they are looking for returnee junior Jennifer Brasington to be strong on the field in both shot put and discus.
Assistant Coach Kieve Johnson said there’s a good mix seniors and freshmen on the girls? side. She has some strong returning seniors.
?(They are) not necessarily always the top athletes per se, but as far as leadership and experience,? she said. ‘Seniors Cara Commons and Morgan Lavender offer standout leadership. Senior Jenna Feeney and junior Sabrina Smith are strong distance runners, who bring returning knowledge. They are a big help to younger girls that are maybe out performing them. It’s more important to me anyway seeing the character behind helping these younger girls.?
Sophomore Heather Czarnecki is also expected to be strong on distance.
‘We do have two seniors (in their) first year on high school track team ? Karina Parker (and) Katrese Moll, who are outstanding sprinters,? noted Kieve. ? For them to be taking on two sports and school is a huge help to us.?
They also see good freshman talent in Micah Dymond and Bridget Cusik, who’s also a JV soccer player.
On the boys? side, they are looking at junior Connor Bandel to be strong on the field in discus and shot put and senior Dallas Pruitt to stand out in the high and long jump. seniors Christian Corrion, Logan Bruni and junior Gabe Hogan are looking good as distance runners. Meanwhile, freshmen Dominic and Zach Smith are showing signs of being good runners.
‘I feel like we’re back to being a young team, but that’s not a bad thing,? Kieve noted. ‘That’s a good thing. It means we have somewhere to go (in the future.)
‘We have strengths all over the place for the boys side,? added Assistant Coach Mike Sudrovech. ‘It just may be tweaking some lineup things, maybe tweaking the order of some of our relays and helping understand the process a little bit better.?
‘The goal for (the) guys is win OAA red (and the) goal for the girls (is to) develop that youth and see what we can do when we get to the other league meets in the region,? he added. ‘With small numbers on the girls side, the way things are scored is going to be difficult to win a lot of dual meets, but I do think some of those groups are good enough in the one-off events that we can do something at the regional and possibly carry some of them to the state meet.?
The Oxford Invitational will take place this weekend beginning Saturday at 9 a.m.
Editor’s Note: Photos of the track teams were not available for publication. They will be published as soon as they’re provided.