A capsule look at local H.S. girls track and field teams
With a loaded and experienced group of returning talent, especially in the distance area with athletes including Katherine Kaster, front, and Noelle Smith, West Holmes has its sights set high this spring.
The high school girls track and field season began March 29. Here are season previews for schools in The Holmes Bargain Hunter’s coverage area:
Garaway
Lady Pirates coach Zach Mottice is looking to see his team make big improvements in the throwing and sprinting events this season.
Returning letter winners include seniors Ellie Goehring (MD), Mya Wengerd (D), Ellie Johnson (S) and Margaret Wahl (D); juniors Rebecca Yoder (MD), Lainey Hershberger (T) and Saydee Specht (S); and sophomores Abby Steiner (PV/S), Kylie Miller (S), Charlee Yoder (S) and Dylan Deetz (S).
Newcomers include sophomore Aubrey Miller (J/S) and freshmen Josie Hershberger (T), Quinn Schwartz (T) and Sydney Miller (S).
Triway
The Lady Titans will be deeper in the distance events this season while faring well in most other events.
Returning letter winners include Ava Gaffey, Addi Hudson, Ella Wigle, Alexia Coolbaugh, Alivia Coolbaugh, Parker Clippinger, Cierra Kemery, Gabby Mullen and Brynn Shearer.
Waynedale
The Golden Bears are coming back from a solid season in which they finished fourth in the WCAL. Third-year coach Shauna Pittman had just three athletes move on from that team. One of them, Skye Morris, was a state qualifier in a pair of relays.
Those groups, consisting of senior Nayeli Cruz and juniors Callie Wolfe and Anna Pittman, made it to the state meet in the 4x100 and 4x200. They will look for a fourth to hopefully make another trip south at season’s end. Others back are juniors Jorjia Persinger (jumps, sprints) and Haylee McKelvey (jumps, sprints).
New this year are seniors Angela Burkholder (distance, pole vault) and Taylor Polen (distance); junior sprinter Abigail Polen and sophomore sprinter Raegan Bigleu; and freshmen Olivia Suttle (sprints, jumps), Taydum Hasselman (sprints), Makenna Conrad (sprints), Kinze McKelvey (distance) and Piper Polen (mid-distance), who was a state qualifier in cross country this past fall.
“The main change from last year will be the size of our team,” Pittman said. “We only had 10 girls last season, and this year we are closer to 20. That is huge when it comes to filling events, especially since most of our runners last year were sprinters. This year we have a small distance crew too.”
West Holmes
The West Holmes girls track and field team will be a mix of veteran leadership and talented youth in 2025. Led by state qualifiers in senior Casey Ogi, the school record pole vault at 10 feet, 4 inches, and junior Katherine Kaster, a state qualifier in the 1,600 meters, the Knights also return regional qualifying distance runners senior Noelle Smith (Walsh University), Lexy Starner (Ohio Wesleyan University) and Zora Starner (Ohio Wesleyan University) to account for a lot of expected points in the distance and middle-distance races.
Seniors Jozlynn Giauque (Muskingum University), Averee Troyer, Arora Chaney and Brylie Rickly also return as regional qualifiers in the sprints and relays and will be counted on along with several talented returners in the throws, sprints and jumps.
Other key contributors will be Mallory Marmet in the throws, Cara McMillen and Lilli Brown in the jumps, Breslyn Brown in the hurdles and relays, Janae Giauque in the sprints and relays, and Alexis Wagers in distance.
Newcomers include freshmen distance runners Iriel Mena, an individual and team state qualifier in cross country in the fall, and Chelsie Cooper, as well as Brinley Malachin in the long jump and sprints, Tinley Sampsel in the pole vault and sprints, and Audrey Dixon in the hurdles and relays.
The Knights hope to be in contention for the Eastern District title, advancing as many athletes as possible to the OHSAA Regional.