Fairfield boys ready for season opener in Iowa City

In what is becoming a theme for Fairfield athletics, a youthful group of runners will lead the Fairfield boy?s track and field team into the 2009 season beginning with its opening meet Thursday in Iowa City.

Cody Norton and Austin Atwood return from a state meet appearance last season after helping Fairfield to two top-three finishes on the blue track. The Trojan 4x200 relay team took second and the 4x100 relay was third, and Atwood and Norton will look to lead the sprinters once again.

?Those two are coming back with all-state accolades, so they will most certainly be leading our sprinters,? said head coach Brian Dunlap.

The other four state qualifiers have moved on however, and nobody leaves bigger shoes to fill than 2007 state 100-meter state champion and 2008 third-place 200-meter runner Will Wellington. Along with the hole Wellington left, several other spots will be handed down to a stable full of youngsters.

With only three seniors on the roster, and Norton being the only one with track experience, even more pressure will be placed on the underclassmen to step in and lead the team. Eddie Acevedo has joined the team for his first time as a senior, and sophomore Grant Curran already has his name next to a school-record in the shuttle hurdle and should head a group of hurdlers that includes newcomer Lani Eversage ? one who Dunlap says has looked good in preseason workouts.

As young as the Trojans will be, they still have some experience coming back after going through the same growing pains a year ago. The same can be said for the throwers, who are mostly underclassmen, but saw plenty of action in 2008.

?Michael Smithburg, Greg Smithburg and Matt Hotek all threw on varsity last year ? their experience will serve them well this year,? Dunlap said. ?Jerrod Leonard has joined us as a junior and he?s just a big, strong kid that we?ll look to have help out in that area.?

Michael Hammes will be returning to help out the sprinters and junior Derek Byrnes should give the middle-distance group some depth. Byrnes will be splitting his time between the track and the links for the golf team, and Acevedo will be sharing time with the soccer squad.

For complete story, read the Wednesday, March 11, 2009 Fairfield Ledger.