Central boys will lean on experience, steady improvements on the track
Members of the Central boys track and field team are (front, left to right) Michael White, Jesse Polkinghorn, Jacob Cook, Gavin Holst, Henry Reimer; (back) assistant coach Isaiah Hopp, Declan Finley, Bryce Heller, Braden Taylor, Kyle Reinhart, Vaughn Zittergruen, Carson Ruegnitz and coach Colten Ledbeter. (Photo courtesy of Jarod Bormann)
By Willis Patenaude, Times-Register
Coach Colten Ledbeter said the Central boys track and field team of mostly underclassmen saw some “positive and exciting” things last season, which has raised expectations heading into the 2024 season.
“Expectations this year are to be much more competitive in our races as our team has progressed throughout the past two seasons, and now has a majority of upperclassmen who have been working hard and improving in the past two seasons,” Ledbeter said.
Some of that improvement was shown in the recent Upper Iowa Conference indoor meet, where the Warriors placed in every event they competed in except one and came away with two victories. One was by Gavin Holst in the 1600-meter run and a surprising win came from Jesse Polkinghorn, who won the 800-meter run with a time 15 seconds faster than any he ran in practice.
Another highlight was Jacob Cook placing in the 55-meter run, shaving almost two seconds off his time from last year. Even Holst saw improvement, running fast splits in the 4x800 and 4x400 relays, and winning the 1600 by 23 seconds. Additionally, the 4x800 relay of Henry Reimer, Vaughn Zittergruen, Carson Ruegnitz and Holst ran 41 seconds faster than the team’s best 4x800 race last year and finished in second place.
“The athletes on our team this year have put a lot of intentional work in to get better for track and field this year and that has shown great improvements already in our first meet of the year. All of our teammates are faster and stronger than they were last year, and we will continue to work on improving their speed and endurance as the season goes on,” Ledbeter said.
The early season success showcases one of Ledbeter’s goals for the season overall, which is improvement and the intention of having at least one state qualifier. The task won’t be easy, given the makeup of the team, which is heavy on distance runners and low on sprinters and throwers.
Helping overcome this challenge is potentially the fact that the team, though small in numbers at 12, has experience. The athletes understand how to train, prepare and perform on race day.
“My main area of concern is our low numbers. This will prevent us from being able to compete well in a lot of relays where we just don’t have the ability to fill out those races or field events,” Ledbeter explained.
Getting the team ready started in the off season, when they ran three days a week from November into January and did three days of strength and conditioning each week as well.
In addition to Holst and the aforementioned members, filling out the team in the distance races are Declan Finley, Bryce Heller, Michael White and Vaughn Zittergruen. Kyle Reinhart, one of the only sprinters, had two top-10 finishes at the UIC indoor and Jacob Cook, one of the main throwing competitors, placed eighth. Rounding out the field events is Carson Ruegnitz, Chance Plagman and Braden Taylor.
It is a small but ambitious group, and success is something Ledbeter is looking for, especially in terms of improving.
“Success this year would be for everyone to improve in their events at every meet, showing continued progress. For some, this will also mean getting to a level where they can continue their season to the state meet,” Ledbeter said.
The Warriors will travel to West Delaware on March 28.
