The Dryden track & field team will have a few senior standouts making their final trips through the circuit, but the Lions continue to stock up on talented athletes even after some graduated or left after a successful 2022 season.
Aidan Kalousdian and Bryant DePaull each graduated and Isabella Harmon transferred after qualifying for the state meet last year, but multiple other athletes have made leaps this year. Dryden head coach Karen Weaver believes part of it is due to the program’s tradition of excellence.
“I definitely feel like kids step up,” Weaver said. “When boys and girls become juniors and seniors, they realize all the hard work they’ve put in and are like, ‘Oh, if I really do all this stuff I can do better than I think I can do.’ It helps when you have a tradition of kids going to the state meets or winning IAC’s and sectionals. They want to continue the success in the program.”
Carlea Davis is one of those athletes, excelling in the 55-meter hurdles, long jump and triple jump in the winter season. She qualified for the indoor track & field state meet, which isn’t separated into Division I and Division II, in the 55-meter hurdles and long jump, proving she has ascended into one of the state’s premier athletes.
“Carlea, she hates to lose; she wants to win,” Weaver said. “She’s going to work really hard and do whatever it takes to get the job done. Her stats for indoor were always top three for whatever event she did. You can’t always teach that – the desire to win, the want to win. She definitely has that.”
Nate Turner also made a leap, getting himself a top-30 finish at the indoor track & field state meet in the 55-meter dash. He was also a part of the 4x200-meter relay team that made states.
“Last year Nate started getting more serious about his work ethic, what can be done and what’s possible,” Weaver said. “Now, being a senior, this is it and he’s got to go for it.”
Not everyone is like Davis and Turner, and some are just on the team to better themselves.
“With track, what I like is sometimes you’re just going against your own PRs (personal records), trying to do better than the last meet,” Weaver said. “Other kids have goals that are going to sectionals or the state meet too.”
Outside of the top two, Weaver is very interested to see how some of her other athletes fare, especially Ethan Gibbs, who has put in a lot of work to get himself better.
“Ethan Gibbs, he did the 400-meter hurdles for me last year,” Weaver said. “In the indoor season, since they’re at the 110 height, he worked really hard the second part of the season to become a 55-meter hurdler, so it’ll be interesting to see what he can do.”
Lucas Morrow, Lucas Majgaard and Chris West, who joined Turner on the 4x200-meter relay team, are also primed for big outdoor seasons. Matt Cubero broke out as a thrower last year, Alex Shramko made great improvements as a pole vaulter and Xavier Scott excelled in the 110-meter hurdles, long jump and triple jump last year. Weaver hopes Scott can make a run at states in either the 110-meter hurdles, the long jump, or both.
On the girls side, Weaver is excited about freshman Jade Brockner, who was a finalist in the 55-meter dash at sectionals this winter, and Maysie Davis, Carlea Davis’ sister, who is coming over from the JV softball team.
One of Weaver’s favorite parts about track & field is the breakout athletes because sometimes, she doesn’t even see them coming.
“There’s some kids I didn’t even teach in elementary school whose abilities I don’t even know,” Weaver said. “There could be somebody I’m not expecting (who breaks out).”
