Injuries are never a welcome thing for any team at any point in the season, but better earlier than later.
A core group of girls on the Mingus Union High School track and field team are going through just that problem, but both the boys and girls as a whole have made progress.
With only three meets in its rearview mirror and plenty more to go, there is more than enough time to get healthy.
“We’re trying to figure out where we’re at, but it’s hard to do that when you don’t have everyone at practice,”
Marauders head coach Yancey DeVore said. “Key injuries early in the season, at least on the girls side, have really crippled us at the start of the season.”
Seniors Auli Hanks and Holly Johnson in addition to junior Hannah DeVore are three of the returners for the girls, but have been dealing with the aforementioned injuries.
Despite limited participation, all three have reached provisional qualifying standards for the 2017 Division III state meet: Hanks in the long jump, Johnson in the 200-meter dash and DeVore in the 300-meter hurdles.
Sophomore Meg Babcock has provisional times in the 400-meter dash and the 800-meter race. Senior Maria Meacham and junior Katelyn Prouty have done the same in the triple jump.
With two meets this week, the rest of the Marauders will have a chance to build on the strides they have already made.
On the boys side, senior Ryan Alexander has a provisional time in the 800, as does senior Kendrew Streck in the shot put and discus.
At the season’s outset, DeVore noted the need for throwers. So far, progress is being made.
“We have young throwers who are making improvements and setting personal bests, and that’s the direction we want to go in,” DeVore said.
Those improvements come from the effort put in at practice, a goal outlined by DeVore during preseason.
“They’re really coming along and working their tails off in practice and they work hard in the meets,” DeVore said. “I’m really impressed with how they’re doing and want to keep them progressing and keep them healthy.”
DeVore praised his assistant coaches for being a key factor.
“The assistant coaches do a good job of keeping everyone engaged and push each other and it really helps out,” DeVore said.
