The Superior Central track and field teams expect to have a good number of athletes this spring. While first year head coach Todd Spranger admits his team is a bit on the young side, he still sees some good things ahead for the girls’ and boys’ teams as they get the season under way.
“We have an enthusiastic group of very young athletes, but that been working hard in the early season,” Spranger said. “Some competed well in middle school, but of course are untested against older athletes now that they are at the varsity level. For others, this will be their first year ever competing in track and field.”
On the girls’ team will be senior Bree Swajanen (mid-distance, distance), sophomores Rowan Allender (sprints), Kiera McDonald (sprints), Janessa Perron (sprints) and Grey Trader (throws) along with freshmen Peyton Adams (sprints), Amelia Tissue (sprints).
For the boys’ side, they’ll have seniors CJ Adams (sprints), Eli Penny (sprints), sophomores Joe Augustyn (throws, sprints) Isaac Gleason (throws), Clay Horne (distance), Marcus Jones (sprints), Jack Kasten (sprints, mid-distance), Chris Kulik (sprints), Jack Ledesma (sprints), Jack McDougal (sprints), Cody Moore (mid-distance, field), Victor Nelson (throws), Cole Ozoga (mid-distance) as well as freshmen Connor Blomgren (throws), Tristyn Davison (throws) Miller Lemmond (sprints, long jump), Zander Mullins (sprints), Evan Simon (distance), Will Spranger (mid-distance, hurdles), Eli Valima (sprints) and Gavin Vining (sprints).
“Right now, our goals are focused on just getting ourselves better at every practice, and building up our general fitness level as we prepare to compete,” Spranger said. “We’re starting from scratch, and I really don’t have any idea how we will stack up against the teams we’ll face at the end of the season right now, since this is my first year with the program. Our focus today is not on what our competitors can do or how good they are, but just on making ourselves the best we can at each and every practice. After we do that, we’ll just let the chips fall wherever they fall at the end of the season, but I have a good feeling how it will turn out for our kids when they put in the work. So, our goal right now is to build ourselves to be the best we can be.”
With such a large roster of boys on the team and the girls team still light in members, they’ll have a bit of different goals from each other.
“The men’s team will always be working toward a conference championship,” Spranger said. “This year, the girls just don’t have the numbers on the team to compete to win as a team, so the focus will have to be more on being the best each individual can be at the events they want to compete in and enjoying the work they put in together on the track.”
The Cougars will open the season in Marquette, for the Queen City Relays on April 16.
“Our hopes for the early season is simply to get some experience competing and see what kind of times distances we turn in, then we’ll keep building from there,” Spranger said. “Those first few meets are a great time for these young kids, we have to experience what it is to compete at this level.”
Like all high school coaches, Spranger is eyeing steady improvements throughout the year, culminating with regionals at Rapid River on May 17 and hopefully the UP finals after that.
“By the time the end of the season comes along, I expect to have a much different team than the one we’re starting with,” Spranger said.
