Thresher track off to a running start

By Luna Meilekh

On the 15th of March, the Bethel College track and field team will officially begin its season. The first competition will be at McPherson College and will put to the test a team that according to some is “the best in years.”

“We’re going to have individuals who really excel and more of them than we’ve had in a long time” said Tracy Tuttle, the team’s head coach.

The men’s team this year includes 23 athletes. Among them are returning athletes like Jeff Buller, a senior from Inman and national champion in the javelin, and David Daugharthy, a sophomore from Iola, who was All-American 6th place in the javelin last season.

“Our biggest strength is that we have really good returning athletes who are good leaders and that newcomers can learn from,” said Tuttle.

Those newcomers include promising athletes like transfer student Mervin Brookins, a sophomore from Sacramento Calif., and freshmen Garrett Hiebert from Goessel.

When asked about the women’s team, Tuttle commented, “Last year I had only 2 women at the end of the year and they beat 3 other full teams--that is indicative of how talented they are. This year the team quadrupled its lines.”

Kristen Schrag, junior from Moundridge and two-time conference champion in 800 meters, and Natasha Esau, sophomore from Hutchinson, are the team’s veterans.

They are joined by new talented athletes like Lacy Fyler, a junior transfer student from McPherson, Annette Gingerich, a freshman from Parnell, Iowa, and Amanda Hiebert, a freshman from Newton.

When talking about the increase in team numbers, Schrag said, “it’s just nice to have teammates; someone to run with and talk to.”

Complements were given not only for the athletes, but also for the coaches.

“Practices are very structured this year and I think that it’ll carry over to the meets and the general performance,” said Buller.

The coaches have also set very specific goals for the team.

“My goals are to develop the areas of our team. They’re going to be putting us in a good position to do better recruiting and to do camps for our team,” said Tuttle.

“My goals are that each person pushes themselves to make them the best runner, jumper, thrower, so by the time conference meet comes around we’ll be prepared” said assistant coach Travis Graber.

“Come out every day, work your tail off and get better,” he added.

The high expectations of the team, especially of its returning champions, put a lot of pressure on the athletes.

“I definitely feel more pressure this year. I feel that people expect me to do it again. I’m a competitor so I put these expectations on myself, which ends up being stressful at times,” said Schrag.

But all in all, the athletes seem to handle the pressure pretty well.

“They don’t see it as pressure, but rather as a way to get better,” said Graber.

Buller demonstrated that the best weapon against pressure isn’t his javelin but rather a sense of humor. When asked how he feels about the first meet, Buller replied, “I feel great about it, very confident, because I won’t be there; I’ll be at a wedding singing.”

Surely enough, the track team this year will be interesting to follow. With so many promising athletes and such professional coaches, we are guaranteed to have a good track season.