“We had several athletes make it to sections and compete well last year,” noted Coach Schleicher.  “Lexi was our lone representative at state, but we had others that were literally inches away from qualifying.  Terina Blascyk and Roman Mihailovschi were both one jump away from going to state in the high jump.  Both had outstanding seasons, peaking at the right time, but missed at the qualifying height to advance.  Both have very high expectations this year.  We had a lot of kids that made it to sections and that experience will help them this year.”

Captains will be Blascyk and Mckenna Beyer for the girls, and Mihailovschi, Ben Nyreen and Isaac Kreft for the boys.

“We feel, as a staff, that we have a well-rounded group this year,” added Schleicher.  “We will be able to score points, but we lack some depth that will hinder our ability to compete with the larger schools.  We have a hard working bunch and the sky is the limit for their potential.  All things considered, the fact that these kids compete the way they do training the gym, service roads and lack of an actual track, the success they have had is a real testament to the desire they have to get better and compete hard every day.  We couldn’t be more proud of the effort they give us day in and day out.  We are all excited to be back together and get after this season.”

Schleicher, who will be assisted by Nate Wood, Austin Hanson, Matt Nemec and Demara Bumgardner, says Morris and Minnewaska Area will be the power house teams in Section 6A.