“We are pretty excited,” Affatato confirmed. “We had a lot of good performances at indoor state and I am excited to have all the kids return. They have all worked extremely hard.”
Seniors Ellie Brush and Nicole Bagby and junior Amaya King have led the way for the younger Comets to follow. All are returning state qualifiers and have picked their work up a notch.
“They have all worked harder to get better and have really shown a good work habit,” Affatato said. “We don’t set expectations, we let the kids set out to work hard and they have followed those three.”
Brush will once again anchor the distance events while Bagby returns in the pole vault and King in the throws.
Lily Hallum returns in the middle distance while Kaylie Connors, Mariah Green and Regan Snyder are back in the sprints. Lakin Pitts and Grace Tang will anchor the jumps while Affatato looks for freshman Maddie Ullom to make an impact every time she takes the track.
Affatato thinks that getting a taste of the state meet will help as the Comets look to hold off Lakota East and Lakota West for the GMC title.
“I think experience goes a long way,” Affatato said. “They have seen what the expectations are at that level and those experiences pay off.”
Warriors experienced: The Lebanon track teams enter 2017 with a lot of returning talent and a few new surprises.
Jessie Hartman will lead the distance runners after qualifying for state last year while regional finalist Missy Emery is back in the 100 to lead the sprinters.
“I think we will be in the hunt for the GWOC West title and finish strong as a team at districts, qualify individuals for regional and state,” girls coach Marty Collier said.
The reason may lie in some of the newcomers.
Shaelynn Hegarty is much improved in the pole vault and Miah Coe has improved in the long jump and the sprints.
“We have seen a lot of progress, especially in our younger athletes,” Collier said. “That trend needs to continue through the season and we need to stay healthy.”
The Lebanon boys are looking to better a third-place finish in the overall Greater Western Ohio Conference meet and an 11th-place finish at the regional meet.
State qualifier Jackson Siddall returns in the 1,600 and 800, state qualifier Kelby Caplinger returns in the middle distance while state qualifier Jordan Campbell is back in the sprints after winning a GWOC title.
Zach Barsala is fresh off qualifying for the indoor state meet in the pole vault while Ryan Beck is back after just missing advancing to the state meet in the 1,600.
Nate Crawford, Josh Zuiderhoek, Josh Finkeldey, Derek Hilyard and Melad Haddad also return for the Warriors.
Add in University of Dayton football signee Nate Obringer in the sprints, freshman Logan Moore in the jumps and classmate Sam Duncan in the distance events and the Warriors have some depth.
“Our expectations as a program are the same every year,” Lebanon coach Jason Simcoe said. “We want to be in the mix for a GWOC West and overall GWOC title, give Centerville a run for its money at the district meet, and advance as many athletes as possible to the regional and state meets. I think we have guys with the right athletic talent, work ethic, and character to be successful every time we step on the track.
Kings eyes success: Both the Kings boys and girls track teams have their sights set on more than winning an Eastern Cincinnati Conference title.
“We want to win the ECC and get as many as we can on to regional,” boys coach Jim Brant said. “We want to get the max to state.”
Brant’s boys are the returning ECC champs and have a strong core returning.
ECC champ Max Schowalter returns after winning the 800 while Grant Coleman, a 13-foot pole vaulter, is also back.
Nakemon Willians, fresh off a breakout football season, will run sprints and long jump along with fellow sophomore Yale Godfrey. Godfrey will also be expected to score points in the long jump.
Taylor Brant will handle the throwing events. He has already qualified for nationals in the hammer throw.
Lynn Brant’s girls team looks to take the final step up the ECC ladder after finishing second in 2016.
State placer Sarah Bruns returns in the 300 hurdles and will once again anchor the state-placing 4x400 relay team. Bruns has already signed to continue her track career at Miami University.
Hannah Rasmussen, a University of San Diego signee, will handle the distance events while the Knights look to be strong in the 4x800 and 4x400 relays.
A trio of freshmen will also make an impact in middle distance runner Brooke Garter, high jumper Isabella Melton and hurdler Danielle Page.
“We are gearing up for some state performers out of a really tough region,” Lynn Brant said.
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