Same look, same mission for 2012 Trojan girls

? Sydney Howard and Jessica Lamb highlight the list of returning state qualifiers.

Anyone familiar with the 2011 Fairfield girls? track and field team won?t find many alterations in this season?s version.

The defending SEC-champion Trojans lost only one senior to graduation last spring ? Edna Jones ? and return six of seven state qualifiers from 2011. Now a team without any seniors, the 40-girl squad will still rely on an abundance of youth and versatility in 2012.

?That?s the thing about most of these kids ? they?re very versatile,? said Trojan head coach Ron Hunerdosse, who has been coaching Fairfield track and cross country since 1974. ?I?ve tried not to let them pigeonhole themselves into a couple different distances.?

The best example of the team?s versatility comes from undisputed junior leaders Sydney Howard and Jessica Lamb. Together, the two Trojans have proven able to run just about anything at a state-caliber level.

?I think any place you put Howard you?re going to score well, and any place you put Lamb you should score well,? said Hunerdosse.

Howard, Fairfield?s most decorated runner, placed at state in the 100- and 200-meter dashes in both 2010 and 2011, topping out at second and third, respectively, in the two sprints last May. She also ran on the Trojans? fourth-place 4x200 meter relay and was fifth at Drake in the 100 last season.

?I don?t know the last time we had a girl place in the 100-meter dash at Drake. That?s how fast she is,? said Hunerdosse. ?You can?t coach speed. She?s just fast.?

Lamb, a cross country star by fall, runs just about everything outside of hurdles and 100-dashes.Although Lamb is the team?s top 3000-meter runner, the junior qualified for four events at state in 2011, and none of them were above 800 meters. She was on the fourth-place 4x200 relay as well as the 4x400, 4x800 and open 800 last spring.

?Lamb is very versatile on the track, and [this season] she?s already within two seconds of her best 800 ever indoors,? Hunerdosse said. ?She?s such a hard worker, and you don?t find many that work harder.?

Another of Fairfield?s top harriers, Hannah Sobaski, returns with state meet experience and has the versatility to rival even Lamb. The junior has found success at distances from 400 to 3000 meters and was part of the state-qualifying 4x800 relay in 2011.

As fast and experienced as the junior class is, however, Fairfield?s sophomore class may be equally impressive and makes up the rest of the team?s returning state qualifiers.

One of the team?s top performers a season ago, sophomore Huma Liptak already has the kind of state meet experience that would make most seniors envious. Liptak qualified for three events as a freshman, including the 4x200, 4x400 and 4x800, and will often have the baton in her hand again this season.

The large sophomore class also features middle-distance runner Whitney Engle and hurdler Marisa Repp, both of whom ran at state in 2010. In addition, Hunerdosse expects big things from Sesali Martin in her second season, and the sophomore will contribute in everything from the 400 to 1500 races.

An experienced, deep group of hurdlers, coached by first-year assistant coach Andrew Hopper, includes Repp, Erin Thompson, Cierra Bielinski, Ashley Manning, Grace Smith, Alexis Ring, Danielle Garrison and Katie Box. Thompson and Repp will be the first to get a crack at the 400-low hurdles, while the rest will primarily earn their stripes at the shorter distances.

Additional short-distance runners expected to fill in the lineup include Sydney Burnett, Allison Angstead and Cheyanne Laux, and Sage Richmond and Holly Kerr are anticipated to tally their points in the longer distances.

In the field events, Burnett and Liptak will be the team?s top long jumpers, and Repp has been penciled in as the Trojans? No. 1 high jumper. Sidney Baumann was the top thrower for Fairfield last season and is again expected to be a high placer in the discus, while Miranda Metcalf, Brooke Stever, McKenna Ledger and a slew of freshman will fill out the other three throwing spots.

?We?ve struggled placing in the shot put in the past few years, and I think we may have some kids that can help there,? Hunerdosse said. ?We have several freshmen who are in that throwing group and I?m sure one or two of them are going to emerge as good throwers, if not this year than some time in the future.?

Although the squad has its share of natural talent, Hunerdosse is impressed most by the level of work the Trojans put into every practice.

?When I?ve given [my middle distance kids] interval work, they?ll do an extra one or two on their own. If I send them out on a distance run and give them a choice, they?ll choose the longer route most every time,? he said. ?I don?t think I?ve had kids do that before ? even the really good ones.?

Hunerdosse hopes all the hard work pays off come May, with the Trojans looking to win their fourth straight Southeast Conference title.

?That?s always your goal ? to win conference. We?ve been very fortunate,? Hunerdosse said. ?But it?s not about just winning conference. If our kids run as well as they can I?ll be happy.

?I like our kids. I like the chemistry of our team, I think they work hard and I think they care about each other,? he added.

Fairfield wraps up the indoor season Tuesday at the University of Northern Iowa. The outdoor season begins for the Trojans March 29 with the Mount Pleasant Relays.