Abby track brings in bigger numbers

The Abbotsford Falcons track and field teams are ready and eager to compete this season. And this year, not only does the season begin on time, but there’s also going to be indoor track meets for the first time since 2019.

“Right now we are so excited to have kind of a normal season finally, and our numbers are sitting great with over 40 kids again,” says returning head coach Jake Knapmiller. “Our goal is to build a positive culture in practices and meets and spread that into our school.”

On the boys side of things, Marcus Bohl and Ty Falteisek are two of the more experienced athletes, having represented Abbotsford at last summer’s WIAA D-3 state track meet. However, the rest of the program is young, and Knapmiller expects it will take some time for younger participants to learn proper technique, and which events are best suited to their skills.

“For boys, the physical development usually doesn’t happen until the junior or senior year, and we only have a few upperclassmen,” Knapmiller said. “So, we are going to see some huge growth through the season just by getting a large number of young boys experience.”

The girls team on the other hand, while not bringing back a ton of juniors and seniors, has a plethora of talent at multiple events. Knapmiller expects the girls to excel in the throwing, sprinting and relay events.

“Our girl throwers are very strong with Bella Aguilera, Dana Block, Margo Pogodzinski and Sommer Brodhagen with some big throws so far in practice,” Knapmiller says. “Our sophomore girls have experience in relay events, and adding Chloe Cihlar to that mix will create some competition for sports. Sydney Falteisek and Bridgett Pogodzinski add versatility in multiple events.”

An area Abbotsford has struggled in over the years has been to find a bigger distance crew. But this year’s squad finally bring in some depth at distance.

“We have a pile of kids working out with the distance coaches this year,” says Knapmiller. “We have two new coaches to the staff with a passion for distance and they have created energy and excitement for the events. Lexie Balliet and Dillon Novak have brought our distance numbers up and it will be exciting to see what their groups can do.”

On the girls side, Falteisek, Brodhagen, Escalera, Aguilera and both Pogodzinskis have a great chance to earn hardware by season’s end. Falteisek and Escalera, who both made it to sectionals last year, are hoping to make it one step further this season.

“We want to go to state, but the biggest thing for us is the rest of the girls are positive and work hard to make themselves and each other better,” Escalera says.

That positive mindset is arguably the biggest thing last year’s squad brings in. After not having a season in 2020 due to COVID-19, the 2021 season was a learning curve for many of the athletes. There were those athletes that were behind on technique or training, but bringing in a strong mentality was crucial to last year’s success, and will be for 2022.

For Knapmiller, just having a normal season that starts on time is half the fun of 2022. Another welcome sight is indoor meets, though these also come with some added pressure.

“I forget that the only kids that have ever had a indoor track season were our seniors,” Knapmiller remarked. “So we go into indoor season with three kids who have ever competed indoors so that is interesting and fun to explain.”

Beyond the titles, times and meets, Knapmiller says experience is the key for this season. But the excitement is in the air, and so thick you can almost see it.

“Trying to get everyone experience and some of our new coaches used to new events will be a work in progress but that is OK,” Knapmiller says. “We have so many awesome things happening that we will just work together on something of the challenges and it’ll be fine.”