The Mitchell Christian track and field teams are back in 2017, bringing mostly youth once more to the spring season.
The Golden Eagles opened the season with the DWU High School Open on Tuesday, an indoor meet that allowed the team to get its competitive juices going, Mitchell Christian coach Jodi Asbenson said.
"We had a hard two and a half weeks of practice and we had spring break in there, too," said Asbenson, who is in her second year coaching the track team. "I am super pleased with the way they ran and they way they jumped. It's been so cold outside, so it's been hard to get your marks. Considering all of that, I'm very pleased."
But with a 22-person team that has just four high school-age athletes on the roster, Asbenson said her team will be walking a delicate line with the majority of its roster in seventh and eighth grade.
"I feel bad taking my young kids sometimes to varsity meets, because it's tough when you're going against bigger and stronger athletes," she said. "But they hold their own. It's not about medals all the time."
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The Golden Eagles expect to be led by the team's lone senior, Zach Bosworth on the boys side and eighth-grader Adaya Plastow in girls competition. Bosworth, who just recently joined the team, was fourth in the boys long jump Tuesday. Plastow qualified for the state meet a year ago in the 1,600-meter run and ran the indoor race on Tuesday, finishing in third place. Asbenson said eighth-graders Max Reynen and Noah Swenson are also athletes to watch and can have success this season.
"There's a lot of kids that, as they get stronger, they're only going to improve," Asbenson said. "We had kids set personal records in the opening meet of the year over last year and without hardly any practice. They can only go up from here."
Asbenson said the key will be to improve on an individual level, while considering the team goals. For the first time in years, Mitchell Christian plans to have relay teams, Asbenson said.
"This is the first year we've done relays and had enough kids in the same age group to have a relay team," Asbenson said. "We will do some junior high meets to get some of those younger kids up to speed and against kids their own age. And we'll have kids that will compete varsity and will be able to hold their own."
