Last year, 2009 graduates Anthony Young-Wiseman and Jonathan Hale had incredible success during the indoor track season, both qualifying for states with Hale placing third in the state for 55-meter hurdles but first in the 4A West Region. This year, the indoor track team hopes to put even more runners on the track to victory despite the loss of these stars.

On the girl’s side, juniors Danielle Newsham and Tessa Morrison and senior Rachel Osnos look to excel in competitions leading towards the state tournament. Morrison made All-Gazette honorable mention last year for the 500-meter, and Osnos won the 4A West Region for the high jump and expects to compete for states this year.

“We expect Tessa to do well and to continue to do well,” head coach Steve Hays says. “We have so many good runners that I can’t pinpoint just one that’s the best.”

Newsham is eager to get in shape for the upcoming seasons, both indoor and outdoor, and credits much of her improvement to Hays’s leadership as a coach.

“Coach Hays helps improve my running by always offering good advice whether it be about injuries, mental performance or different workouts,” she says. “Right now to prepare we just have been doing a lot of base building through easy run, and our early races just show how everyone is doing in their training.”

On the boys, side junior Rico Djidotor and seniors Drew Katz, Brandt Silver-Korn, and Andrew Palmer also show promise for the upcoming seasons.

Palmer, the two-time cross-country state champion, made All-Gazette and Washington Post honorable mentions last indoor track season for 1600 and 3200 meters, making Hays confident about his upcoming season.

“Andrew is far and away the best runner in the state and will probably win at the mile and two mile [1600 and 3200 meter sprint], but it’s harder to judge in indoor,” he says. “We’re really just focused on the spring season.”

After losing stars Young-Wiseman and Hale, Hays has found new talent on the boys side to fill in the hole. Football players Jojo Dobbs and Cole Hendrigsman are competing in track for the first time.

Though Hays hopes for success this season, he approaches it with a different mindset than he does cross country and spring track.

“We approach indoor track like colleges do, and focus more on pure training for spring,” he says.

Hays says that even for indoor states, the team does not alter its training style and continues with routine practices, because outdoor track states is the ultimate goal. He also says that the boy’s side is slightly stronger due to their number four ranking last year at states; however, he is not concerned with rankings for indoor, instead focusing on the greater goal.

“Obviously we want to do well,” he says. “But honestly it’s far away and not our eventual goal, which is spring states. We’ll just continue training and hope for the best.”