Serving Lucas, Ottawa, Sandusky and Wood Counties
Second-year head coach Lacy Seamans is excited to see what the Woodmore track program can accomplish this season, especially in relays.
“Right now, I think the whole coaching staff is excited about relays, really putting these kids together and seeing what they can do as a team,” Seamans said.
Seamans, who started with the program as an assistant in 2015, saw the boys program finish second on the SBC last year, which was its best finish since 2005, and the girls finish third despite their best sprinter not being available on prelim day.
“We're excited,” she said. “This is the last year with the league, the SBC as it is, so (we’re looking forward to seeing) where we stack up against teams our own size. Also, I think going to the new divisions, especially on the boys side where we are Division V, will be an opportunity for some of these athletes to continue on to the regional and hopefully even state meet.”
On the boys side, the duo of Landon Rich and Drake Blausey earned trips to the state tournament last year. Rich competed in the 100m dash, while Blausey did so in the 400m dash.
While Blausey, as well as Brady Thatcher, have graduated, Seamans said this year’s team will look to carry that momentum into this season.
“It was a really good season, especially for the boys,” Seamans said. “The girls have been the most successful for several years before that, and the boys really had a good year last year. That was backed by a couple of seniors though. We're trying to keep that momentum going with this younger group. We have a ton of freshmen out. We're really riding that momentum with the boys' side.”
Rich returning for his senior year is big, Seamans said, although he did get a bit of a late start due to competing at the state wrestling meet.
“He’ll definitely be a leader on the team,” Seamans said.
Senior Ryan Maynard will be key in throws. Another senior, Myles Byrd, is back in long distance, while sophomore Coleton Shaner returns in distance. Senior Jesse Lopez is back in the jumps. Senior Adyn Smith returns in the pole vault. Freshman Lucas Caldwell, who competed in districts for wrestling, will help in sprints.
Smith and Shaner competed on the 1600 relay team last year that finished sixth at regionals, just missing a state berth.
“We have a nice round bunch,” Seamans said.
The girls side is down in numbers, but Seamans said they had a great season last year while being a super young team, so they look to build on that.
Graduated are Stella Strong, who placed 11th at regionals in the discus, and Addison Overmyer, who finished 13th at regionals in the pole vault.
“It’s difficult when you graduate (Azure Travis, who won several state championships),” she said of last year’s team. “We were really happy with the girls' season. We would have liked to finish a little bit better in the league, but with who we had and how young we were, I think that they had a great season.”
Ariana Florio returns for the Wildcats in sprints after taking her junior season off. Karli Heins also returns in sprints after a breakout freshman year. Willow Lewis, a junior distance runner, just missed state last year with a time of 2:22.60 in the 800.
“She was like tenths of a second away,” Seamans said. “She'll be back for that and also some relays and then her younger sister, Wren Lewis, as well, in the longer distances.”
Sprinters Florio and Heins will likely compete in the 100, 200, and hopefully 400 events.
The Wildcats qualified for eight events in regionals last year. The 3200 relay team of Wren Lewis, Addie Pleasnick, Addie Lowry, and Willow Lewis placed 11th.
This year, though, the girls will have a bit of a tougher postseason path than the guys with being in Division IV.
“We're back to facing some powerhouses like Eastwood,” Seamans said. “Lakota stays with us (and) Port Clinton, but we've definitely got some big goals for both (boys and girls), obviously. The league meet is a big goal on both sides. Lakota still looks strong for the boys. If we can repeat that second-place finish, that would be awesome. And the girls, it’s a smaller team this year, so we’re just filling it out as best we can and seeing how high we can place.”
