The 2024 Track and Field season has already begun with most Owensboro schools having competed in a couple of meets. This will also be the first year in a long time that Trinity has had a team, and they will compete in whatever events they can. Here’s what local coaches had to say about the new season:
What are your expectations/goals for this year?
Apollo head coach Kris Crawford: We as a team have what we call 5 key ingredients for success: 1. Be a good student and have great character. 2. Be a good teammate and competitor. 3. Be on time, ready to listen and learn. 4. Compete 5. Have fun. Our goal is at the end of this season that we compete at peak performance in the regional meet and qualify as many as we possibly can to the state meet.
Daviess County boys’ head coach Josh Bratcher: I expect for our team to be very strong within our region this year. We have had several strong performances already and look to continue our progress in training. I think that we can contend for regional champs. We will also likely send several athletes to state.
Owensboro girls’ head coach Matt Morris: This season the Lady Devils will be looking to take a step forward within the Region. We are looking to recapture the City-County Championship and make some noise at the Regional Championship in May. We should see a lot of Lady Devils competing at UK on June 1st.
Owensboro Catholic head coaches Jordan White and Chris Morris: Expectations- compete for and win a regional championship, or runner-up trophy. In the past, our biggest issue has been the lack of athletes competing in track and field. This year, we have more kids on the team than I can remember, going back to when I was a thrower at Owensboro Catholic from 2008-12. Goals are interesting though, when you set them really high and don’t reach them, you still accomplish a lot, maybe more than you have before, yet you’re still disappointed. My main goal is to show kids that they can have a lot of fun in the sport of track and field, and in some cases, it could help pay for their education after high school.
Trinity head coach Christina Hawkins: This year, I am just looking for my athletes to learn the different aspects of the sport, have fun and start to grow the program.
What will be the biggest challenges on the schedule?
AHS: Our biggest challenge is that we have so many athletes on our team that you are limited on who can compete and who can’t because of event limits. This is not a bad thing because we have lots of team depth right now which will help us throughout the season, and it allows us to get more kids involved and they can learn new things as well.
DCHS: The biggest challenges on the schedule are usually our regional meets. Everyone brings their A game, but at that point in the season anything can happen. Usually, our biggest challenges throughout the season are to stay injury free and have consistent training by staying healthy. If we can keep those things in check, then we will likely have an extremely strong team.
OHS: Region 1 is a tough region to get through in track and field. The biggest challenge for us this year will be to maintain focus for the duration of a very long season. We are also working through some offseason injuries that will take time for recovery, but those ladies are on track to be ready in May.
OCHS: In terms of challenges on the schedule, I think every meet is a challenge. During our regular season, we’re competing against OHS, Apollo, and Daviess County regularly, in addition to Henderson County and other larger schools in Western KY, so each meet is a challenge. In Class A, Green County, who’s in our region, is always a tough challenge. They have a great program and have seen a lot of success in the sport going back to my freshman year, in 2008-09.
THS: We do not have a track to practice on. We do go to Daviess County to practice a couple times a week. I am so appreciative and thank DC’s coaches, athletes, and administration for welcoming us. We also have a very limited number of athletes. Therefore, we do not participate in every event.
Who are your top returning athletes and why?
AHS: We have a veteran group of athletes on both the girls and the boys’ teams. They all show up every day and go the extra mile our coaches do an absolutely amazing job with our kids. I’m afraid to say who is the top returners because they all are amazing, so this junior and senior class is a very special group.
DCHS: We have several top performers on the team for their events. Several of our athletes are on their way to repeat state performances. For distance, we have Brayden Kaelin and Aidan Taylor who will likely be top performers both seniors. For short sprints we have Connor White who likely also places high for long jump. For long sprints we have Logan Higdon and Luke Hagedorn. For shot and discus we have Kolyn Cruz. Collin Jones is a returning hurdle who will do extremely well if he keeps consistent with training. We also have several newcomers that could show great potential this year.
OHS: Our top returner for this season is the 2023 Region Champion in the 100 and runner-up in the 200, Keeli Hanley has spent a lot of time preparing for her junior year and looks to build on last season’s success. Other top returners include Kiley Palmer and Addison Edge who should factor into the 800 by the end of the season.
OCHS: Top Male athlete is Sophomore Cam Woodward. He was 2nd in region in Triple Jump as a freshman last year and will compete in sprint events for us as well. Top female athletes are Senior Mallory Bailey and freshman Peyton Reid. Mallory qualified for State in the 100M hurdles last year and was a part of a state champion 4×100 m relay team when she was a sophomore. Peyton was an All-State performer in Cross Country runner in the fall.
THS: Dalton Millay is my most experienced runner as he has run cross country all four years of high school.
Who do you expect/need to step up and why?
AHS: We are blessed to have so many kids this season come out and participate in record numbers for our program. This younger group have taken and shown that they can compete and have a willingness to learn which makes our team more versatile and gives us depth in spots for points in meets.
DCHS: The big thing with any team is needing someone to step up and lead. The team always needs its seniors to step up and lead the team.
OHS: We have a great cast of freshmen that will step up throughout the season that include Lilah Stanley, Zah’niyah Board, and Eliza Kline. All 3 have had great preseason and will add a lot of speed to our squad this season. Karleigh Brown (11th) and Abby Ladwig (10th) will also look to make their mark in Red Devil uniforms this season in their respective events, both are coming into the season fully healthy and very motivated to perform.
OCHS: We have had a lot of newcomers this season, so it’s tough to tell at this point. I’m excited to see so many kids giving so much effort every single day. We’ll have a few surprises this season in terms of major point-scorers.
THS: All of my athletes. I want them to improve every (most every) meet.
What areas are you hoping to improve on this year and why?
AHS: Overall team depth for points and teamwork. All our athletes no matter the events they participate in do athletic development, footwork drills and running. This will help with overall endurance and flexibility and help with preventing injuries.
DCHS: Our team is pretty diverse and usually scores in many different events. The big area where I think our team needs to grow is having its seniors and juniors take more of a role of leadership on the team. Track is always a challenge for team unity when everyone has their own events. Our goal is to create a positive environment where athletes can count on each other to do what is best for the team and not just themselves. This often comes back to leadership, and it is definitely an area that we can improve on.
OHS: We have to get more out of our field events in order to compete for the Regional Championship. This has been an area we have struggled with the last couple of seasons due to injury and depth issues. We have several girls that are focusing this year very specifically. I believe we will start seeing those results in early May as well.
OCHS: Every event group will see improvement this season. Last season it seemed like we weren’t always able to fill every event we wanted to, but with our numbers this year, that won’t be an issue, and we’ll have more opportunity to find the right event fit for athletes.
THS: I want each athlete to improve in their own events.
