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Linton-Stockton’s track teams grow good crop of freshmen
Tuesday, March 19, 2019
Linton-Stockton coach Aaron Lynn hopes large numbers of freshmen will help the Miner track teams realize their goals this spring.
A lucky 13 freshmen, five girls and eight boys, came out for the teams. Lynn said those athletes can help Linton realize its goal of taking the Southwest Indiana Athletic Conference titles.
“Our goal every year, both boys and girls, is winning SWIAC. We know it’s tough every year,” Lynn said. He noted the Linton girls must compete against a formidable Shakamak team, and the boys must go up against talented Clay City and Eastern-Greene squads.
The Lady Miners need those freshmen to replace two 2018 graduates, Caroline Wilson, who went to the state meet in discus, and Skylar Tucker, who qualified for the Bloomington North regional. Lynn noted those were the top two scorers for the Lady Miners last season.
He said he expects seniors Crislyn Woods, Ashtynn Powell, Lexi Anderson, and Kyla Risner will greatly benefit the Lady Miners. Woods stepped up her efforts in the distance races last spring, Lynn said, and had a good cross country season last fall, qualifying for the Bedford Regional.
“She got a lot stronger,” Lynn said.
Junior Kyla Risner returns to compete in the throwing events. Lynn said she will be joined by classmate Breana Wright who is going out for track for the first time. “She’s never run before,” Lynn said, “but she’s got some talent.”
The girls team features a strong sophomore class with 10 girls on the roster. Lynn said Vanessa Shafford, Haley Rose, Imagin Morgan, and Sarah Cox “are all sophomores who helped out a lot last year.”
Shafford is currently on crutches from a foot injury sustained in the basketball season. Lynn said he thinks she has the potential to reach the state in the discus, but much depends on how quickly she recovers.
Rose placed fifth in the high jump at last year’s Bloomington North Sectional while Morgan fared well in several running events, finishing ninth in the 400-meter dash.
Of the five freshmen, Lynn said Gentry Warrick showed her athleticism during a good volleyball season. Brinli McCandless, Madalyn Delph, Lillie Oliver, and Shelby Hicks round out the freshman girls.
“All the girls were big scorers in the junior high SWIAC last year,” Lynn said.
LINTON GIRLS TRACK ROSTER
The boys team certainly has big numbers -- 30 lads went out for the team, including seven seniors.
“That’s pretty good when you’ve got that many coming out,” Lynn said.
Senior Austin Gordon ran on the 4X800 relay team that reached the regional and also competed in the 1600 and 3200-meter runs.
His classmate Silas Robbins placed eighth in both the discus and the shotput in last year’s sectional. Lynn said Robbins wants to go past the regional this year.
“We’re looking for a little more than the regional,” Lynn said. “I think he can be a state qualifier in the shotput or the discus.”
Silas’ brother Sammy, who placed third in the high jump at last year’s SWIAC meet, and fellow seniors Kole Padgett and Drake Cunningham can also throw the shot and discus. Lynn laughed that the throwing events are good for the Miner football players.
Evan Slover, another senior, made the regional by finishing third in the pole vault. “He’s certainly going to be looking to do that again,” Lynn said. Hervir Khangura rounds out the senior class.
Juniors Luke Lannan and Lance Dyer give the Miners two proven talents. Lannan gave Linton a one-two punch in the SWIAC hurdle competition last spring, placing first in the 300-meter and second in the 110-meter hurdles. At last year’s sectional, Dyer placed eighth in the 100-meter dash and ninth in the long jump.
“They scored a lot of points and we look for them to score a lot this year,” Lynn said.
Freshman Jackson Lynn will support Lannan in the hurdles.
Linton will have a deep base of throwers as juniors Hunter Boldrey, Preston Lockhart, Dalton Smith, and Matthew Ketchem and sophomores Damian Giles, Landon Giles, and Aidan Keen can also hurl the shot and discus.
“There are more than one thrower,” Lynn said. “When you’ve got many throwers coming out, it sure gives you a lot to draw from.”
Junior Jordan Stahl and freshman Ben McKee give the team two more distance runners. Freshmen Gabe Eslinger and Drake McKisson can help out in both the running and jumping events. Freshman Zach Eggers will be a “nice addition” in the high jump and sprints, Lynn said.
Sophomores Jonathan Hayden and Samuel Feaster give Linton two more good distance runners in addition to Gordon. “Those three did a great job last year,” Lynn said.
The other freshmen are Kaulin Padgett, Drew Smith, and Cameron Goodman. All eight frosh were members of last year’s junior high team that won the SWIAC. Normally freshmen don’t contribute much because they lack the strength and size, Lynn said, but this group should be an exception to the rule.
“We’ve got a pretty good crowd of freshmen coming in,” Lynn said. “They’re going to make an impact as freshmen.”
He added that: “We’ve got a lot of kids. It’s a matter of finding out where they fit and where they can score the most points for us.”
The coach concluded by saying he hopes more Linton athletes than Shafford, Slover, and Sammy Robbins qualify for the murderously tough regional fields.
“Hopefully, we get some more athletes than that,” Lynn said. “We always want to take as many as we can.”