With a roster packed with newcomers and a renewed emphasis on speed, the Warren County Pioneers track and field team is sprinting into the new season with momentum and high expectations.
Head coach Jeremy Wilhelm said the program has seen strong turnout this year, bringing more than 70 athletes into the fold as the Pioneers begin their schedule.
While the large roster means many athletes are still learning the ropes of high school track, Wilhelm said the program places just as much emphasis on character as it does performance.
“We try to teach them to be good role models for not only the younger people but for people out in the community,” Wilhelm said. “We want them to go out and compete where we go anywhere representing not only our school and our team but the community.”
Wilhelm said one of the team’s biggest strengths lies in its sprinters.
“It’s been showing in practice,” Wilhelm said. “I feel like we have more distance on the girls side. Last year, we had more sprinters, but I feel we had more distance runners on the girls side this year, so it’s a good balance of seeing what they can do.”
Wilhelm said developing speed on the track starts long before the starter pistol fires. Much of the training centers around improving the fundamentals that allow athletes to accelerate quickly and maintain form throughout a race.
“We do a lot of footwork,” Wilhelm said. “We do a lot of resistance training. Some people have it and some people can improve in it so it’s been a challenge this year but a healthy challenge we are looking forward to.”
That work has already begun translating to competition. The Pioneers recently competed in their first of four meets this season in Cookeville, a venue that could become even more significant later in the year.
Wilhelm said the team’s goal is to return to the postseason and compete at sectionals, which are also scheduled to take place in Cookeville.