Trojan boys track mixing youth, experience in 2012

With just five seniors on the Fairfield boys? track and field squad and 24 spots to fill, the Trojans? overall success could hinge on newcomers this spring.

?We don?t have a ton of numbers, so we?ll be using a lot of our bodies,? said 14-year head coach Brian Dunlap, who added they were 33 members strong. ?In track you need 24 guys a night if you have them.?

Despite the low head count of the senior class, some of the team?s top performers are expected to be seniors.

Corbin Harwood headlines the group and has the versatility to help out in several key areas on and around the track. Harwood is no stranger to the state meet, having competed in three events in Des Moines over the last two years, and nothing less than a return trip is expected. Harwood qualified for the state meet in the high jump as a sophomore, and as a junior he led off Fairfield?s shuttle-hurdle relay and ran the 110-high hurdles.

?He?s a leader and a versatile athlete that we?ll be able to use in a lot of areas ? high jump, long jump, any of the hurdle events and as a sprinter on the track,? said Dunlap.

Senior twins Max and Braz Johnson along with senior Zach Vivier all have state meet experience and will be called upon in a variety of sprints. The Johnson brothers will see time in the 100- and 200-meter dashes, and Vivier can run up to the 400-meter dash.

Jonny Swanson replaces state-qualifying graduate Grant Curran alongside Harwood in the 110-highs, and Dunlap hopes Austin Francisco and Nick Jackson can join Swanson and Harwood to establish one of the area?s best shuttle-hurdle relays.

Additionally, both Jordan Whitney and Josia Wilbur have exhibited the needed athleticism and endurance to fill in the empty spots in the 400-low hurdles.

?You don?t find kids who want to run the 400-lows, so it?s nice we?ve got two,? said Dunlap. ?The nice thing is we?ve got plenty of hurdlers [overall].?

While the hurdlers have depth in spades, the sprint crew isn?t far behind.

?Our sprint crew should be strong. We?ve got some veterans in that area, so we?ll have some leaders there,? Dunlap said. ?I think we also have a nice group of young kids behind them.?

That younger group of runners includes junior Justin Hammes and sophomores Blake Irwin and Kooper Dahlstrom, who also could see his name called in the long jump. A talented group of freshmen, including Dakota Nye, Nick Jackson, Narendra Martin and Alex Christensen, will have an opportunity to receive varsity time after making waves at the middle-school level.

?The freshmen [sprinters] show promise,? said Dunlap. ?There?s not a bunch of them but I like the way they?re working and the way they compete.?

In the 800-meter run, junior Alex Love burst onto the scene last year and is expected to only get better in his third year.

?I?m expecting good things out of Love this season,? Dunlap said. ?He was on our 4x800 that ran at the state meet last year and he?s looked good so far in practice. He?s had a nice career up to now and I think he?s a kid that could push the 2-minute mark and maybe go under.?

Others who will join Love on the 4x800 relay include junior Dillon Fry, who ran on the state-qualifying relay with Love last season, and sophomores Vince Horras, Jordan Whitney and Riley Hammel.

Once again, the long distance crew appears thin at first glance, but a trio of freshmen could make an immediate impact. After having some success on the cross country course this fall, Jonah Marks steps in as the team?s workhorse runner in the 3,200, while fellow freshmen Logan Swanson and Zane Richmond will give the Trojans a fighting chance in the 1,600.

The field events, undeniably Fairfield?s strength in 2011, have been hit hard by the losses of state-qualifiers Michael Smithburg and Daniel Schwarz. Smithburg, a state champion and school record holder in the discus, has graduated. Schwarz, a junior and seventh-place state medalist in the high jump, is ineligible to compete.

Senior Cody Kool, who also will split time with golf, and juniors Jake Mineart and Gabe Jaquez are expected to fill the void left by Smithburg, and all three upperclassmen bring with them the ability to score points on a nightly basis.

?Our throws will certainly take a hit when you lose a guy like Smithburg, but I think we?ll still be steady within our conference,? Dunlap said. ?The nice thing is they throw shot and discus both.?

As always, Dunlap expects no easy wins when it comes time to face the rest of the Southeast Conference. The Trojans took third at the conference meet in 2011, behind both Mount Pleasant and Washington.

?The league is always tough. Washington and Mount Pleasant, along with us, have strong tradition. We?ve been banging heads for the 14 years that I?ve been here,? he said. ?We might not be the favorites right now, but hopefully by the end of the year we?re certainly considered a contender.?

Dunlap will see exactly where his Trojans stack up against the rest of the conference when the outdoor season opens March 22 at Washington.