Third-year Head Coach Dakotah Keys had “a good turnout” of about 60 athletes as the track and field team readied for its season before the coronavirus hit.
The Husky boys were coming off a fourth-place finish at state and many in the program quietly thought this could be a championship year for Sweet Home.
This would have been the second year Sweet Home would have hosted the Meet of Champions, and at the start of the season Keys said 60 teams had signed up to send their best athletes.
Among the potential leaders on the team this year would have been senior Casey Tow, who blossomed as a decathlete last summer, winning the USATF northwest region decathlon, his third-ever competition in that event. He followed that up with a third-place finish at nationals. Tow skipped football in the fall to concentrate on his training for track.
He also signed a letter of intent to compete for the U.S. Naval Academy in track, where he is expected to focus on the decathlon.
Tow was expected to provide the Huskies points in the hurdles, the sprints and the jumps, after placing second at state last year in the 400. Sweet Home would also likely have gotten quality points at state from junior Tristan Calkins, who was second last year in the long jump – competing with an injured hip flexor. Senior Tristan Saultz barely missed a trip to state in the 800, thanks to a scrum final at district last year, but would have been a threat for more points this year.
On the girls side, there were less athletes signed up for track than Keys would have liked, but they included junior Jessy Hart, a state place-winner in the 400, and seniors Torree Hawken (relays) and Katen Edwards (javelin) were also back to lead this year’s team after qualifying for state last year.
“We need more girls,” he said.
Despite that, Keys predicted in March that he expected some individuals to do “very well at state” for the girls, though he acknowledged their numbers were lower than he would like.
The other area where the Huskies need help is freshmen: Going into what would have been the start of the season, Keys said he had six.
“We had baseball and golf, softball, take a few, so it’s understandable,” he said. “But you obviously want to continue growing.”
The Huskies were primed for a good year, he said, noting that a significant number of athletes had been training seriously on their own prior to season workouts.
“The kids we have out are really fun to watch. The training atmosphere is really cool, super positive. It’s a very upbeat feeling. A lot of that has to do with the seniors and juniors. They bring a good attitude every day. The new kids have become part of that training group.”