Washington boys track season set to start

A mixture of rookies and experience is what people will see on this year?s Washington Demons boys track team.

?We?re young, we have some young kids, but we also have some veterans who have been there,? says coach Steve Roth.

?I have one returning that was in the state meet last year, Caleb Bex. We?re going to build on that?s the plan.?

In terms of specific events, ?the shuttle hurdle should be a very important and strong area,? Roth says.

?The distance runs with Brennan Horak, we will be a lot better because of the experience he has in the 1600 and 3200 meters. Joining him this year is his brother, Evan, who we just have to get in shape.

?For sprints, I?m not sure yet. I?m still working with that. I think the shot put, discus and long jump, everyone is coming back.

?They all placed at the end of the year and I?m looking forward to them starting where they finished. That?s going to be a bright spot as we go along.?

Roth is hoping everyone has made progression from last year.

?That?s why we hold the indoor so early every year,? he says. ?It gives me an idea of where everyone is.

?One thing of note, the weather has been cooperative for the last couple weeks and we have been outside working on things we don?t normally get to do this time of the year.

?Everyone looks like where they were at the end of last season. You always want to come in and start where you finished last year.

?That?s the plan we are working on and stressing. Coach (James) Harris did a wonderful job with the guys at the end of the year and Coach (Shelby) Salow did a great job with the distance runners.

?The 1- and 2-milers will be so much more improved. They will be very competitive and fun to watch.?

Looking toward the end of the season and anyone making it to state, Roth wants Bex to return again.

?I hope he leads the way,? he says. ?We had some outstanding seniors who had some injuries on the shuttle team and couldn?t make it to state.

?If I can find a fourth person for the team, I think we?ll be competitive everywhere we go.

?Getting to state is the game plan. It?s the seniors stepping up and taking over what the seniors did last year. I had an excellent bunch of seniors last year who did a nice job.

?Each year is a different year and I hope they follow Caleb to the state track meet. We had Michael Ellingson in the high jump and Caleb in the high hurdles. That was it, but we were still there. That?s what counts. We want to get as many events there as we can.?

For the seniors to step up and help lead, Roth is there to encourage them in that role.

?I give them a bunch. They are the ones who have been there with me for the entire four years. Bryce Craft, Caleb Bex are the two seniors who have participated the most.

?Kyle Anderson is doing both soccer and track, so I hope he can help us out at the beginning of the season and we can get him at the end when we need him.

?Kyle Schindler is another one who we are planning on helping us get to the next level.?

Newcomers to the team this year have potential.

?Kyle Dallmeyer and Cade Hennigan are two sophomores who will help us a lot,? Roth says.

?I know Mario Tapia will help us out in the shuttle. I?m expecting a lot out of junior Kiowa Keith. He had an excellent wrestling season, so I hope that carries on.

?Tanner and Collin Murphy, both of them, had excellent wrestling seasons as well. I?m hoping that carries over to the next level. Ben Schiefer is a sophomore and will run in the 400 hurdles for us.

?Sophomore Mason Sinn is currently out with a broken foot and I hope we can get him back the first part of April.

?Sophomore Ryan Reighard tore up his knee in football and isn?t with us, which hurts because he was an outstanding 400 runner.

?There?s a lot of freshmen joining as well. It?s going to be interesting. My slogan has always been ?what you put into it is what you get out of it? and we will see what everyone has put into it the last two weeks and go from there.?

The indoor meet at Cornell Friday is the starting point for the season. ?Not everyone will run because there aren?t any low hurdles, it?s only the high.

?We only have 10 events, but the kids I think will be able to help us down the road looked good in the preseason, so I?m using them. The rest will get to run in the first outdoor meet in a couple weeks.?

One thing of note is that last year Roth retired, for the most part, but just couldn?t stay away.

?I retired from other things, but I didn?t want to retire from track. I really wanted to be a part of it.

?I?m in my 41st year. I?ve enjoyed working with everyone over that time and it happened that the position was available at the time when I could come back and talk with the administration.

?I had to apply just like someone else would have had to do. It?s great to be back. I have some seniors that I wanted to see get to the next level.

?That was one of the main reasons. I want all the seniors to end up on the blue track at the end of the year, along with the others.?