EAGLE TRACK PRESEASON ARTICLE
Launch the media gallery 1 playerEagle Track squads produce 36!!!...….up 50% from 2018, high water participation mark.
The hallways and classrooms on some spring days in 2019 will be very quiet and empty. 36 of 62 high school members at Allen Consolidated will be participating in track and field.
The 2019 Allen Eagle track squad will be a blend of youth and experience along with a sprinkling of veteran performers from prior state track meets this season. The squad consists of 22 boys and 14 girls. Six of the thirty six athletes competed in Omaha in 2016, 2017 or 2018. The Eagles captured 10 medals at the 2018 state meet, all by the returning participants on the 2019 squad. The squad size of 36 represents a high water mark topping any squad size in the recent years, if not a couple of decades. The 2018 squad had 25.
Head coach, Dave Uldrich, will be assisted by Marc Bathke, Paige Green, and Evan Colfack.
Heading the senior class for the Eagles will be Devin Twohig and Isaac Verzani. Twohig and Verzani are three time state meet performers with Twohig holding four state meet medals, while Verzani has three. Leading the junior class will be Brogan Jones, a two time performer in the state meet, holding four medals. Noah Carr and Lukas Oswald each participated in the state meet in 2018 winning a medal.
Leading the girl’s squad will be sophomore, Alli Jackson, the lone state meet participant returning, Jackson snared two medals in the 2018 state meet with superb efforts in the 400 and 800. She will look to hang a few more around her neck in 2019.
Seniors who will jump in the competition area in 2019 are Jarod Lund, Katie Bathke, Haley Stapleton, Bethany Kneifl, Summer Jackson, and Cassidy Thomas. All have the ability to contribute to team efforts during and by the end of the season. Lund is a mid distance runner. Bathke is a jumper, sprinter. Stapleton has been a “staple” on the relay teams, Kneifl and Summer Jackson offer distance strength. Thomas in the weights events appear as a possibilitiy, as well as hurdling. Junior, Ally Twohig, may provide some depth in the distances.
The junior boys are bolstered by Joshua Grone, a member of the 400 meter relay, missed the state meet in 2018 after leading the district all season. Steven Cooks, a high jumper and hurdler will have chances to make his mark as well. Joshua Cooper will be a hurdler. Brock Floyd will work sprints and discus. Austin Gregerson will throw in the weights events.
The sophomore girls have some potential in the field events and may see the track, are headed by Carly Dickens and Ashley Kraemer. Lauren Gonzales is a hurdler who vastly improved in 2018, and newcomers Taylor Boyle and Mallory Geiger could and should be contributors on the track. The sophomore boys who could make a move to the next level are Kobe Kumm (1,600), Anthony Isom (100), Steven Sullivan (triple jump), and Wyatt Verzani (1,600).
The freshmen are a very talented group, and will work to add depth to the squad. Jordyn Carr (jump and sprint) and Skyler Rahn (mid distance) are the two freshmen girls on the squad. Ryan Anderson, Josh Olesen, Ty Krommenhoek, Gabe Reinert, Kaleb Kumm, and Brennan Beach will look to fill track, hurdle and field event slots where needed. The coaching staff will work on evaluating and finding roles in events that best fit each of the skill sets of the freshmen class.
It seems as if the 2019 could be a very exciting group to watch, as the talent walking within the school hallways have moved to the track, creating a stir of optimism with athletes who almost broke through, returning proven athletes, and of course, the youth who will develop and break through by season’s end.
Coaches comments:
“The coaching staff is very excited about the number of participants. It appears that the excitement is generated from within, and the atmosphere that the athletes have created in the past. We will be their best cheerleaders at the meets, and mentors during practice. The team will work very hard to get better. Our coaching staff’s philosophy is easy to understand, ’get better daily as individuals’. The program is all about personal improvement, not being the first place person or a medalist in every meet. We have never made that a priority and will not start now. When the kids buy into that, and see improvements come personally, they work even harder to better themselves. I respect and admire these kids…..to put themselves in front of everyone (parents, peers, public), risking failure, but risk being successful too. Eventually, the medals will come. The work it takes to be a track athlete and learning to compete is a valuable lesson for life. We appreciate and respect each and every athlete who dares take the challenge. These athletes are a tremendously fun and hard working group of young people.”