As the spring season approaches, anticipation is high for Lennox High School’s track and field team under the guidance of head coach Jared Vlastuin. With a solid lineup of athletes and a wealth of talent, the team is poised for success in the upcoming season.
Entering his seventh year as head coach at LHS, Vlastuin brings a wealth of experience to the team. Assisting him are a dedicated group of coaches including Matt Luze, Paul McVey, Mike Oltmanns, and Kray Person.
Last season, the boys’ team secured a top five finish at the state level, while the girls’ team achieved a commendable seventh place. With such strong performances, the bar is set high for the upcoming season.
The team has seen both losses and gains in terms of athletes. Key graduates include Emily Plucker, Cohen Metcalf, Austin Strasser, Layne Kuper, Braeden Wulf, Landon Slack, and Coby Peterson. While those athletes will be missed there is a large number of talented athletes on this year’s roster including the following athletes Vlastuin believes are ones to watch this season: Addison Martz, Jayla DeCou, Karlie Bosma, Kelsey Schmidt, Dani Highum, Holly Gillick, Ryan Hanssen, Cloy McVey, Cade Sherard, Emory Lefers, Tate Gerdes, Teegan Musser, and Layton Smith.
“I think we are going to have a great year for both the boys and girls. Our boys are relatively stacked from 400-1600m, and we have some youth that will fill in the holes we have at hurdles from graduation. If we can get the jumps and other field events to step up and perform – we have a legitimate shot at a top three finish at State for our boys,” said Vlastuin. “Girls are a real wildcard. We have some strong returning distance runners from our team last year, even though we lost Emily Plucker. We have scoring potential in the throws. We also have some returning speed in the short sprints, and we have a lot of talented middle school girls and freshman that will be joining our squad. Girls have a realistic shot at a top six finish at State as well if things align the way we think they can.”
Team members this season includes seniors: Ethan Larson, Ashton Bach, Lilly Meyer, Dani Highum, and Ashley Bondesen; juniors Boston Katzer, Tim Kloska, Ben DeJong, Emory Lefers, Chase Faulds, Corban Hanneman, Chett Jibben, Layton Smith, Caleb Ellen, Cade Sherard, Joey Boysen, Noah Sayler, Gavyn Herlyn, Ava Nelson, Kelsey Schmidt, Ryan Hanssen, and Natalie Andernacht; sophomores Lucas Hartman, Wyatt Bult, Jacob Snyder, Noah Wood, Jacob Richert, Cloy McVey, Elijah Johnson, Lyncoln Leo, Jyler Antoinne, Tate Gerdes, Eli Highum, Jacob Capon, Jaxson Bittner, Teegan Musser, Maxwell Weeldreyer, Coyer Fergen, Josephine Plucker, Adeline Timmermans, Holly Gillick, Andie Peters, Briana Slack, Addison Martz, and Hanna Adney; freshmen Drake Mikkelsen, Noah Sitter, Andrew Stensaas, Kolby Jennings, Grant Larson, TJ Allege, Isaiah Sayler, Jevyn Lefers, David Bartscher, Karlie Bosma, Madden Hassle, Kenzie Bosma, Jalyn Faulds, Mya E., Kianndra Fergern, Haven Larson, Sydney Johnson, and Layci Eli; eighth grader Jayla DeCou; and seventh graders Bergan Musser, Tori Gerdes, and Addy McVey.
When assessing the competition, Vlastuin identifies Tea Area, Sioux Falls Christian, and themselves as the top contenders in the area. With a strong roster and strategic planning, Vlastuin believes the team has a legitimate chance at a top three finish for the boys and a top six finish for the girls at State. His main concern is the depth in throws for both the boys and girls and the depth in the sprint events for the boys.
With the vast number of strong returning athletes and the talented new comers, Lennox is poised to make a statement in the upcoming track and field season.
The Orioles were scheduled to begin their season on Tuesday, Apr. 2 at Elk Point Jefferson. They will compete at Vermillion on Thursday, Apr. 4 and be at Tea Area on Tuesday, Apr. 9. Lennox’s first home meet will be held Thursday, Apr. 11, beginning at 4 p.m. They will be at Dakota Valley on Apr. 23, at Canton on Apr. 25 and home again on Apr. 30. In May the team competes at the Dakota Relays at Howard on May 3-4, at West Central on May 9, and at Elk Point Jefferson on May 16 for the Region Meet. The State Meet will be held May 23-25 at Howard Wood in Sioux Falls.
Comments