A good group of Sedona Red Rock High School runners, jumpers and throwers departed after last season, but this year’s track and field team is by no means short on talent either.

Five Scorpions who qualified for the 2017 state meet are back, and among the group of mostly underclassman there is plenty of potential for more to make it this time around. One of the biggest improvements comes in the middle- and long-distance runs after the resurgence of the cross-country team last fall.

“We still have state-caliber kids. My goal always is to be one of the top five teams, boys and girls, in the state,” Red Rock head coach Harry Schneider said.

Three of the five returners who competed against the rest of the best in Division IV a year ago were pole vaulters. Senior Julia Koss, last year’s state runner-up, along with juniors Drake Ortiz [fourth place] and Forrest Hartley have been slowed early on, due to recent weather, in terms of getting in quality training. They, along with assistant coaches John Ortiz and Will Eaton, will be mentoring a new group.

“I just kind of need to be the leader and help wherever I can, especially since there’s a lot of younger vaulters,” Koss said. “They don’t know as much as what to do, as steps to do, how to change. So I just kind of give them little tips and make sure everyone’s on the runway in time.”

Junior Collier Trcic took fourth in the triple jump last season. Trcic and junior Abby Stevenson also competed in the long jump. The biggest blow the Scorpions take is the loss of three of the divison’s best hurdlers in senior Javi Pacheco [baseball], senior Chenoa Crans [injury] and sophomore Jacki King [transferred schools].

Even though the proven talent stops there, Schneider is confident in the rest of the relatively young group. Junior three-sport athlete Evan Favorite appears to be a strong replacement in the sprints and hurdles. Sophomore Morgan Fritz can make an impact in the hurdles as well.

Sophomore Dylan Beattie looks at filling the shoes of Joe Glomski, last year’s state champion in the long and triple jumps. Rather than the long jump, Beattie would do the high jump in addition to the triple.

Although just five weeks into practice, Schneider is especially excited about the boys 4 x 800 relay. Last year the team suffered because of the cross-country team’s disappearance. The program returned from its one-year hiatus under Red Rock alum Wyatt Stevenson, and it is now bearing fruit for the track team.

Seniors Nathan Hoyer, Marino Lozcano and Eduardo Jimenez were all on that team in the fall, now ready to contribute in the spring. Sophomore Cheyenne Javey, another cross-country runner, is looking promising early on for the girls.

“I think our [4 x 800] team is going to shock the state,” Schneider said. “I think we can break our school record, after having no team last year. I think they’re going to be that good, and they have the attitude to be that good.”

The coach whose hands are most full is throws coach Kali Gajewski. There is not a clear replacement for Hannah Ringel, a three-time state shot put champion now competing at NCAA Division I University of Idaho, nor for the three senior boys who made the state meet in 2017.

While some might not think of it as an advantage, Schneider said, the fact that the team does not compete in dual meets every week is a good thing. Rather than rushing into training hard, it allows him to slowly and properly prepare the athletes for competition.

Another added bit of help is the winter training the team did. So are, Schneider believes, the barefoot warmups and activations he puts the Scorpions through at the start of practice — a new idea he implemented this year. He said it has reduced the amount of shin splints common at the season’s start. Unlike the beginning of last season, the Scorpions are not marred with injuries.

“I can do what I’m really supposed to do, coach them correctly, instead of if we had a dual meet, this week things would probably be pushed harder and there would be more injuries,” Schneider said. “But I didn’t have to, which I’m lucky with and I really mean that.”
Alumni Watch
Ringel competed at the NAU Walkup Skydome for the Big Sky Indoor Track and Field Championships on Friday, Feb. 23. She only threw the shot put, finishing 11th with a throw of 42-02. She will now go into the outdoor track and field season, though no further meets are scheduled locally.