The Oconto Falls High School boys track and field team didn’t lose a single member to graduation last year.
That’s pretty valuable as it moves into this season.
“I think that’s really important,” coach Lon Ludemann said. “There were a couple sophomores and juniors that didn’t come back, but the majority of our team is back.”
Five seniors – James Malcheski, Alex Young, Hunter Reed, Dillon Curl and Cole Westcott – will be relied on to help lead the other 17 athletes on the team.
“I’m pretty upbeat,” Ludemann said. “The last couple of years our numbers have been down, but the quality has been pretty darn good. They’re a great group of kids. It’s not for a lack of trying, I tell you.”
The athletes who return gained experience last season even though the team took its lumps in the Bay Conference.
“I think they’re going to be able to know what they can do and not do,” Ludemann said. “We started off the year talking about that, and we’re going to focus on what we can do best.”
What the Panthers will probably do best is running the distance races.
“We’re going to load up those events because that’s where we can throw the kids,” Ludemann said. “That’s about the only thing we can do.”
Oconto Falls’ 4x400- and 4x800-meter relays advanced to the WIAA Division 2 sectional last season. All four runners competed in both events and are back — Malcheski, Young, Reed and junior Michael Fifield.
Young and Reed are also solid in the 400, and Malcheski and Fifield run well in the 800. Junior Mike Friedman, who broke his foot during cross-country, is looking to rebound in the 1,600 and 3,200, and Liam Spillane will be a key runner in the 3,200, as well. Ludemann is banking on freshman Evan Konitzer to compete in the distance races.
“They offer a great amount of experience and have been to state twice in cross-country, so they know what it takes to get to the highest level,” Ludemann said.
Ludemann really likes the addition of four freshman this season. Along with Konitzer, Nate Trepanier will race in the middle distances, and Aaron Kurth and Mac Winkler are sprinters.
The Panthers will struggle to score in every event with only 22 athletes on the roster.
“Field events have been a problem for us for years. We just don’t seem to find the jumpers, the vaulters,” Ludemann said. “We’ve got a couple shot putters that will be alright.”
Ludemann is hoping his team can improve on last year’s eighth-place finishes in conference and regionals, and advance to sectionals in multiple events. Last season, Fifield was the lone Oconto Falls athlete to qualify for sectionals in an individual event. He competed in the high jump.
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