With Spring Break now in the rear view mirror, the Kemmerer High School Track & Field team is back in action this week as they restart their schedule in Big Piney this Saturday. 

“Track has been going pretty well so far this season,” replied head coach Phil Thatcher.  “We have had a couple meets but only about half the team was able to make the second [one] due to it happening at the start of our spring break.  I am really happy with the effort of the kids.”

Thatcher noted a few elements that he would like to see improved as the program makes the sprint to the State meet in six weeks time. 

“One thing that we really need to start progressing on is our relay chemistry,” he said. “We will be running some medley relays for the first time this season and the coaches are excited to see where we stand in that event.  The other thing that needs to keep improving is our field events in general.  We have a fairly inexperienced team this year and every rep we can get in the throws, jumps and vault is very important to us to keep improving on our techniques.”

The coaching staff is leaning on those returning athletes to help guide what is a young squad overall.   

“The returning members are doing really well leading and supporting the first time tracksters, which is almost half the team,” Thatcher added. “We are trying to get kids into the best events and positions to have them be competitive at regionals in the middle of May.  We have pretty high expectations for ourselves as both boys and girls teams and I think the coaches and kids are taking good steps towards those goals.”

Some highlights of the early season include athletes who have pre-qualified for State. Those include Claire Croslsand (100 & 300 Hurdles), Bowman Sandall (Pole Vault) and Abram Hartmann (Discus). Both boys and girls 4×800 meter relay teams have prequalified as well.   

“We are looking forward to Big Piney this week,” Thatcher concluded. “It looks like the weather will be decent and some very competitive teams attending.”

After this weekend the Ranger thinclads will be competing in Evanston, Shoshoni, Star Valley and Morgan (UT) to close out the month.

The next chance for Kemmerer fans to watch their athletes on their home turf will be May 5 for the Larry Rector Invite.

The 2A West Regionals will be hosted by Shoshoni May 15-16.