Track teams ready for first meet

With 17 different events to cover for track meets, the first weeks of the season are devoted to determining who will fit where.

With 65 boys and girls out at Sisters High School, track coach Ross Kennedy and his assistants have been doing a lot of evaluating and sorting to find the sprinters, jumpers, throwers, hurdlers and distance runners to balance out the teams.

Kennedy, who is in his second year as head coach, already has the sound of excitement in his voice as he talks about the teams’ prospects.

“The girls have an amazingly talented pool of freshmen, which, when combined with our returning athletes and new upperclassmen, makes one of the strongest looking teams Sisters has ever seen,” he said. “I have already told them to consider themselves state trophy contenders.”

Senior sprinter Molly Van Acker and junior hurdler Jenny Boswell have plenty of state meet experience and are expected to be the glue to hold the sprinter/jumper/hurdlers together. Iris Powell looks to return to state in the middle distances and should get plenty of support from her cross country teammates Erin Gough, Kaitlin McAlister, Lindsay Chick, Teresse MacKenzie and Chelsea Addison, among others.

Jackie Grittman, a senior, will be the cornerstone of an up-and-coming group of throwers. Kelly Cundiff returns in the triple jump and Anna Pepperling and Cammy Jacobson are expected to be a force in the pole vault.

The boys team looks better every day, according to Kennedy.

“Where the girls have an undeniable depth of talent, the boys are more subtle,” he said. “They are working hard and each day we get another surprise.”

One of those surprises came in last week’s intra-squad meet when five different boys long-jumped over 19 feet. “Having two jumpers go that far early in the season would make any coach smile, but to have five isunbelievable.”

Returnees sure to lead the team include senior co-captains Daniel Holloman and Matt Neilson.

Both boys are sprinter/jumpers with Holloman excelling at the high jump (6-feet-five-inches personal best) and long jump, and Neilson in the triple jump and long jump.

Senior transfer Jake Seal will contribute to the jumping and sprint corps as will sophomore Eli Callan, who is also a hurdler.

Morgan Mansker and Wes Hodson return as two of the top pole vaulters in the league and distance runners Jeff O’Brien, Stefan Redfield, and Cory Bigelow are back and expected to score in their specialties.

“Both the boys’ and girls’ teams look very competitive already,” said Kennedy. “They are working hard, pushing each other and building each other up.”

Kennedy’s assistants include Matt Craven (sprints), Jim Anderson (pole vault), Alex Cretsinger (jumps), Charlie Kanzig (middle and long distance). Part-time volunteers include Wayne Powell, Kris Kristovich, and Jim Golden.

The competitive season begins Thursday, March 17, at the Mountain View Icebreaker in Bend.

The meet begins at 3 p.m. and there is no charge.