(Neola, IA) — Tri Center Boys Track and Field will have to rely on some young runners this season. Head Coach Gene Johnson says that half of the team is freshmen so he will use the first part of the season to mix and match and see where everybody fits the best. One thing that is certain is Haven Weers will run the one mile and two mile. The sophomore won both races at the Audubon Early Bird this past Tuesday and Johnson says he just needs to stay healthy
The Trojans do have four seniors on the team: Zach Nelson ran a 200 leg on the Distance Medley Relay that broke a school record at the state meet last year and finished 17th; Nick Dahir was on the 4×800 relay last year that qualified for state and finished 22nd; Nolan Kunze runs mostly in the 200 and 400; and Carter Gittins is out for the first year.
For the relays, Tri Center got three into state last year with Sprint Med, Distance Med and 4×800 but Johnson is keeping his options open for this year’s team
The Trojans got a solid performance from Junior Rylan Ring in the 110 Hurdles earlier this week at Audubon finishing 4th — Johnson likes what he can do and hopes to put together a shuttle hurdle team
In the field events, Johnson says Junior Carlos Hopp is looking good in the shot put and is getting stronger while Junior Mason Abel is a quiet leader and throws the discus.
Tri Center will be at Nodaway Valley’s track meet Monday night
Complete Interview with Head Coach Gene Johnson
