Members of the Saratoga High School Track and Field Team warm up by running in place during their March 10 practice.
Back row, left to right, Aaron Kerbs, Hunter Mason, Riley Sandilands, Max Schneider, Darian Williams, Bradley Bifano, Rodrigo Escobedo, Zane Michelson, Hazer Hinkle, Cristian Soles, Cameron Lehr, Matthew Lincoln, Brandon Ziegler, middle row, left to right, Seth Harrison, Kyle Bartlett, Ryan Malone, Jake Scholz, Ben Falk, Tate Stinson, John Brennan, Cameron Collamer, Marshal Hill, Andrew Janecek-Oiler, Jeriah Gonzalez, Alex Ziegler, front row, left to right, Thomas Ingleby, Kylie Theesfeld, Sarah Burton, Haley Soles, Katie Loose, Alicia Zaragoza, Kelsie Samson, Peyten Fisher, Meredith Lincoln, Morgan Rempel
With more than 30 athletes competing this year, the Saratoga High School Track and Field Team is preparing to make another big impact at state.
Last year the team boasted six all-state placers, and three are back hoping to repeat history for 2014. They include Ben Falk, who placed for the 400 meter dash (second place at state) and 1600 meter relay (first place at state); Rodrigo Escobedo, who placed for the 1600 meter relay and 3200 meter relay (first place in both relays at state); and Cameron Collamer, who placed for the 3200 meter relay (first place at state).
The returning 2013 all-conference placers include Collamer, Falk, Escobedo, Andrew Janecek-Oiler, Hunter Mason, Tate Stinson, Haley Soles, Kelsie Samson and Veronica Lincoln.
Coach Rex Hohnholt said he is excited to have nearly 40 kids on the team this year. He said the team has been steady with its number of athletes for the past five or six years.
"When you've got numbers you can fill a lot of holes and every event, and obviously we're going to be able to do that," Hohnholt said. "We've got that, especially on the boys side, and this is probably the first time ever that we'll be able to fill every event throughout the meet. We're excited about that, from having throwers, to jumpers to sprinters, to distance runners and the whole gamut. That's pretty exciting when you're pushing half of your student body out for track and field, but the kids are going to have to work hard."
There are around 25 boys who make up the team's majority year, but Hohnholt said his fewer girls are also capable of doing great things this season.
"We ended up with 11 total girls, but we'll see what we can do with those 11 girls," he said. "We'll make them better and help them jump higher, run faster and throw further. It has been steadily improving and growing more numbers on the boys side, and this is by far the biggest boys team we've ever had. We've got some talented kids who did some good things last year coming back, and it's great to see the junior-highers come in and follow suit of what the high school kids are doing."
Although placing high at state is a goal for some, Hohnholt said it is important to recognize the value of simply improving over a season.
"It's exciting for kids to realize, 'I may not be state champion, but I can sure get better at something,'" he said. "The most exciting thing as a coach is to see every kid improve and be rewarded for their efforts they put into practice. If everyone's out there just to win a championship we wouldn't have so many out, so getting your personal best and setting a goal to achieve that is the life lesson. We also use track and field as a stepping stone for bigger and better things in the classroom, and for after they graduate."
The Panthers' first meet is the Natrona Invite at Natrona County High School in Casper, which begins at 9 a.m. March 28.
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