Short facilities and a roster shorter of experienced players are just the beginning of the barriers Camp Verde High School head track coach Lori Showers says her teams will have to overcome to enjoy a successful spring.
“I don’t even have 15 boys,” Showers said. “We had four four-year state qualifiers of five seniors last year, so I don’t have anyone left that really qualified for state.”
That has left Showers scrambling to find able bodies to fill even 15 slots for the first meet for the Cowboys on Thursday, March 6, at Wickenburg High School. CVHS is further handicapped in team competition by not having mats long enough to comply with Arizona Interscholastic Association requirements for pole vault competition.
“If we had a nice, all-weather track like some schools, it would be different, but we just don’t have the facilities,” she said. “This is definitely a rebuilding year. We’ve had a good core for so many years, but most of my top track kids play two or three sports.
“We’re going to make it through and we’re going to have fun, that’s the important thing.” she said.
Showers chose to go with Wickenburg as the teams’ season opener instead of the Skydome Classic like other area high schools because of that short, relatively inexperienced roster in both boys and girls track. The only returning state qualifier for either team is junior shot-putter Viola Logsdon.
“It’s a little afternoon meet,” she said. “We have so many kids new to track, we decided to start simple. It’s so hard for brand new kids to fit in at the big meets.
“I have a lot of non-track kids out. It’s been very overwhelming with a pretty big sophomore group.”
For the full story, please see the Wednesday, March 5, issue of the Camp Verde Journal.
