MITCHELL — Mitchell Christian School track and field may be young, but the Golden Eagles have lofty goals.
With just one returning letterwinner from a season ago, fresh faces are littered throughout the roster for MCS heading into the 2023 campaign.
But the unknown also brings with it optimism for first-year head coach Ryan Chase, who’s building a fresh culture at MCS.
“I think there are several kids who could qualify for state,” Chase said. “If everyone stays healthy and keeps working hard, we have a chance to qualify some people in relays. And I think there's a chance even for some school records to be close to falling or actually be broken this year.”
Joseph Tegethoff is the lone letterwinner from a season ago for the Golden Eagles. He returns for his junior season likely to be featured in the long jump, as well as several distance competitions, specializing in the two-mile run.
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Chase also pointed to senior Nahum Anderberg, who missed last season after an injury he suffered during basketball, as someone who could have a big season for the Golden Eagles. On top of Anderberg, eighth-grader Silas Holdeman figures to be a staple in Mitchell Christian’s distance lineup after showing his prowess in cross country with a sixth-place state finish in Class B in October. Fellow eighth-grader Carson Johnson will likely see action in sprints and long jumps and a pair of freshmen in Josh Brandt and Carter Lee will also help build the 4x100 relay team, Chase said.
The opportunity for this season to be a year of growth is there for the Golden Eagles, but Chase said while there’s a bright future ahead of his squad, this year could be a part of that bright future.
“I think we have some kids who long-term, several years down the road, have some incredible potential,” Chase said. “And so I think that's kind of what we're trying to build toward. But this year, we're trying to just kind of get the foundation set.”
Part of setting that foundation comes in building a culture, and Chase said his team is “buying in,” and he expects to see even more buy in as the year progresses. Chase said this season will be a chance for his athletes to try different events to really find what they’re good at.
“Everyone's excited to try and I think that's the best thing because you have some kids who want to do sprints, but then realize they're really good at mid-distance,” Chase said. “... This team is young and excited.”
Even with the weather and amount of snow still on the ground, Chase has made sure his team has gotten outside as much as possible in preparation for the season.
“When it comes to workouts and sprints, we've pretty much always been outside,” Chase said. “We've been braving the elements. We don't want to have to do things in a gym or in a school if we can be outside and so we've just been building that toughness by being outside dealing with whatever comes on and adapting, improvising and overcoming.”
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