PREP BOYS TRACK PREVIEW: Talented, deep rosters across the board heading into 2023
Mar. 31—Plenty of varsity experience returns for the Elkhart boys track team this season, which ended up winning the Goshen sectional last year in a competitive meet.
Senior Rodney Gates qualified for regionals individually in the 100-meter dash and 200-meter dash as a junior in 2022, as well as part of the Lions' 4X100-meter relay team. The relay team also features returning runners in Zach Anderson, Christopher Williams and Nathan Munson. Those are just four of the near-100 athletes on the Elkhart boys track team this season.
"We are blessed to have a large team this season," Elkhart coach Adam Homo said. "It is going to be interesting watching this team learn how to be a team. We have 54 student-athletes returning with experience, so we have a strong core coming back from last year's team. The coaching staff has been happy with the progress so far. The kids have been working hard, and it has been fun watching everyone progress. We also have a lot of new faces, so we will see what type of team we have over the course of the season."
For Northridge, while they graduated top talent in state qualifiers Jack Moore (3,200-meter run) and Mason Floria (300-meter hurdles), They also have some key pieces coming back in other events. Regional qualifiers from last year that are back this season are junior Jett Mann in the 400-meter run, senior Jaxon Miller in both the 800- and- 1,600-meter runs, junior Jacob Wetzel from its 4X100-meter relay team, junior Max Estep, Mann and Miller from the 4X400-meter relay team and seniors Will Knox and Jonathan Spicher off the 4X800-meter relay team.
Miller was also a regional champion in the 800, going on to finish 12th at the state meet in the event. He's part of a strong distance program for Northridge, which now includes his twin younger brothers in freshman Xavier and Baylor Miller.
"The coaches and myself are excited for the upcoming season," Northridge head coach Aaron Brick said. "We see the conference as stronger than in years past and this will create some great viewing opportunities for the track and field community. I think this will transfer to a better conference meet and state meet series."
An area team that could push Northridge in the Northern Lakes Conference is Concord. While the Minutemen graduated the likes of sprinter Jaton Thomas and distance runner Anthony Roberts, they also return a bevy of regional qualifiers in junior Joseph Moon (100-yard dash), senior Armen Koltookian (400-yard dash and 4X400-meter relay team), senior DaeSean Emerson (110-meter hurdles, 300-meter hurdles, 4X100-meter relay team and 4X400-meter relay team), sophomore Jaron Thomas (4X100-meter relay team) and senior Lance Army (discus).
"I feel we have an opportunity to be competitive this season," Concord coach CJ Shafer said. "The kids have put together very solid off-season and early season workouts and practices. We have some kids that I think have a chance to see success in the postseason and conference meet level. We are hoping some of our experiences from last season in the postseason and conference meet will pay off as success in this season. Those guys are in leadership roles and we are counting on them to score a lot of points for us."
Other state qualifiers returning are Goshen seniors Tommy Claxton and Luis Loera. Claxton competed in both the 3,200-meter run and the 4X800-meter relay, while Loera was just in the latter of those events. They are two of just five returning letterwinners for the RedHawks this year, who has a familiar face as its new head coach in Mike Wynn. The longtime cross country head coach and track assistant is leading the boys track program this spring after Scott Lancaster took the head position for the Fairfield boys team.
"It will be a challenging year being the head coach," Wynn said. "We hope to be as competitive as we were last year, but we were hit hard by graduation and only have a few returning letterwinners."
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2023 Goshen News area boys track teams — preseason info
BETHANY CHRISTIAN BRUINS
Head coach: Benjamin Hurst, 9th season (15-35 overall record)
Assistant coaches: Linda Hochstetler, Michael Yeakey, Juan Perez and Dallan Troyer
Last season's record: 2-5 (2-2 HPC)
Returning letterwinners: Seniors: Gabriel Clark, Dylan Diener, JJ Fleming, Sam Klopfenstein, Simon Moshier and Avery Rusel; Juniors: Jesse Bontrager, Eliott Borden, Justin Hochstedler, Tristan Mast and Kaden Paul; Sophomore: Landon Moshier
Other varsity athletes: Seniors: Sun Banchasawan and Gabe Sanchez; Juniors: Nico Brenneman and James Lind; Sophomore: Simon Dutkiewicz; Freshmen: Benji Fleming, Toby MST, Roman Nyce, Zane Parson and Josh Rassi
Coach's comments on the upcoming season: "Both the boys and girls programs are looking to continue with the momentum that was building late last season after a strong showing at the HPC meet. We have a number of new athletes to the sport, and I am excited to find out how they are going to best use their talents to improve the teams."
CONCORD MINUTEMEN
Head coach: CJ Shafer, 12th season (39-41-1 overall record)
Assistant coaches: Matt Nicoson, Rick Murray, Brett Bironic, Perry Bironic, John Dolph, Levon Parker, Ulysses Ledezma, Spencer Stalker and Chase Andrews (manager)
Last season's record: 7-1 (6-1 NLC)
Returning letterwinners: Seniors: Lance Army, Jonathan Castaneda, Colyn Chris, Darian Decker, DaeSean Emerson, Andrew Girard, Titus Hackworth and Armen Koltookian; Juniors: Chris Adams, Anthony Claudio, Ben Creek, Joe Moon and Shamon Wells-Moore; Sophomores: William Bennett, Reid Sollars, Josh Sullivan and Jaron Thomas
Other varsity athletes: Seniors: Axel Barrabes, Martin Centeno, Kaniel Cole, KenJuan Delgado, Diego Fernandez, Matthew Godzisz, Mekhi Hall, Chad Kennedy, James Lewis, Marco Mulas, Gabriel Nascimento, Jacob Peterson, Blake Rogers, Juan Ross, Jessi Salvador, Jeshua Sotelo and Luixavier Vera Torres; Juniors: Cody Byler, Toryn Day, Reed Gill, Lucas Green, Salomon Hernandez, Nicholas Kustron, Kamrin Lewis, Aaron Makin, Logan McIntosh, Leonnel Moreno, Malachi Neterer, Julio Rosa, Brennan Rumble, Cullen Schrock, Davon Smith, Jayden Snell, Trevor Vergonet, Kyler Williams and Courtney Wilson; Sophomores: Dawson Baumer, Logan Cook, Trent Cripe, Noah Culp, Jake DeShone, Trevor Dorrier, Jacob Egendoerfer, Giovanni Estrada, Hudson Glantz, Anthony Gomez, Angelo Herrera Martines, Nathan Jaramillo, Ahkeyvel Jefferson, Ernest Jennings, Jack Jewett, Emery Jimenez, Zach McDonald, Elijah Munoz, Trentin Rogers, Julian Romero, Qubid Rugelio, Yazid Salvador, Drew Trigg, Garrett Tucker, Kayden Watts-Rump, Logan Whitman, Jayvion Wilson and Darren Ziegler; Freshmen: Jayden Anglemyer, Donovan Arnold, Cole Breneman, Char'rese Breveard, Bo Brunner, Ethan Fernandez, Markeese Gandy-Gayfield, Alejandro Gonzalez, Ramiro Guzman, Ethan Hausbach, Caiden Heliger, Jacob Hernandez, Teagan Keenoy, Deangelo Lucas, Gavin Mansell, Emmanuel Martinez, Irvin Mejia, Jaxson Meyer, Daniel Montiel, Jeremy Moore, Dalexandro Moreira, Anthony Ortiz Bautista, Elias Santiago, Parker Shaffer, David Smith, Hayden West, Asief Wilson, Demitrius Wilson, James Wilson and Jackson Yoder
ELKHART LIONS
Head coach: Adam Homo, 3rd season (22 overall within Elkhart; first 19 at Memorial)
Assistant coaches: Jim Eger, Stanley Davis, David Link, Dee Peters, Marilyn Smith, Derek Light, Jeff Miller, Barry Hines, Wayne Bias and Michael Mitchell
Returning letterwinners (grades not specified): Oscar Aguilar, Zach Anderson, Trenton Bias, Tre'Vonn Brown, Connor Dow, Jaqaveion Echols, Nick Edwards, Michael Gaff, Rodney Gates, Logan Hetchler, Max Huckleberry, Daniel Jaramillo, Denis Kale, Dylan Knefely, Rae'Kwon Lemons, Aalias Leonard, Zane Lightfoot, Cohen Lundy, Max Malloy, Logan Mann, Alvernon Mitchell, Nate Munson, Aaron Richter, David Sefu, Cade Tyrakowski, Damien Wakes and Chris Williams
Other varsity athletes (grades not specified): EJ Aguirre, Uriel Aguilar, Ian Alexander, Salah Ali, Jaelyn Allen, Zahir Aydogdiyev, William Bell, Xavion Barber, Jamison Bertram, Jaiden Bestman, Michael Bong, Mansour Boussaha, Dylan Bressler, Gaven Butler, Leo Castro, Ben Cole, Billy Cronkhite, George Dibley, Jackson Ezzell, Javier Fernandez Galen, Keelin Fred, Demetrio Garcia, Nolan Gilbert, Josiah Gladden, Matt Grolich, Jaime Guzman, Keenan Hansborough, Maurcie Harris, Trinton Harris, Cory Hausbach, Korbin Hershberger, Hayden Holdeman, Jacob Hughes, Amadon Ige, Dominic Iocco, Darrion Jackson, Germani James, Londyn Johnson, Blake Jones, Collin Khomphenchen, Anthony Leonard, Jaylen Lewis, Mikael Maciel, Ethan Mann, Jose Yael Marquez Patoya, Ernest McClain, Kevin Mehl, Gideon Method, Landon Miller, Logan Mitchell, Alonzo Newbern, Alfonzo Newbern, Darreon Newson, Isaac Olivares-Solis, Dametre Pulliam, Ruben Quintinar-Resendiz, Eddie Rixter, Tariq Robinson, Francisco Rosales, Kolben Ryall, Javin Sanders, Tyrique Sanders, Peyton Shanholt, Ben Sharp, Nate Sharp, Davis Sprague, Javrey Stokes, Owen Swinehart, Connor Thomas, Chris Todillo, Victor Torres, Tre Ulmer, Alexis Valdivia, Ayden Vizina, Mathias VanderZwaag, Angel Vazquez, Dylan Vega, Deron Williams, Kamdyn Williams, Brandon Witte, Parker Wright and Oliver Yeakey
ELKHART CHRISTIAN ACADEMY EAGLES
Head coach: Peter Casaletto, 13th season
Assistant coaches: Andrew Medford, David Hilty, Andrew Stevens and Luis Bueno
Last season's record: 2nd in HPC
Returning letterwinners: Seniors: Daniel Burch, Jackson Burden, A.J. Cox, Josh Helmuth, Jude Reynolds and Luke Schramm; Juniors: Devyn Clements and Trent Conrad; Sophomores: Hayden Hartman, Alex Ingle and Ben Leeper
Other varsity athletes: Senior: Isaac Leeper; Junior: Maliki Redmond; Sophomores: Edwin Newsome and Caden Whidden; Freshmen: Caleb Barnhard, Nathan Beer, Livingstone Gathunga, Isaac Espitia and RJ Ware
Coach's comments on the upcoming season: "We are very strong in the mid distance with returning regional placer, senior Luke Schramm who is looking good already in the 400 and 800. Not far behind him is junior Trent Conrad who specializes in the 800 as well. Those two boys have our 4x800 already ranked on the Hoosier State Relay board. We also have milers Ben Leeper and Devyn Clements on that relay. Sophomore, Alex Ingle is our best returning long sprinter and freshman RJ Ware is looking to be a great addition. On the long distance we have seniors Josh Helmuth and Josh Helmuth that will be contributing to our depth. Returning senior, AJ Cox is already at last year's best marks to lead our throwers. He will be joined by Jude Reynolds who is transferring from the distance squad yet football has greatly increased his strength. Senior hurdler, Jackson Burden is leading a squad of younger hurdlers."
FAIRFIELD FALCONS
Head coach: Scott Lancaster, 1st season at Fairfield (36th overall; 239-144 overall record)
Assistant coaches: Gary Fribley, Levi Neuzerling and Tyler Courter
Last season's record: 2-2 (2-2 NECC)
Returning letterwinners: Seniors: Caleb Becker and Brock Berkey; Juniors: Aidan Bender, Chase Buckholz, Ethan Hochstetler, Alex Hofer, Marco Garcia and Ethan Mendoza; Sophomores: Nicholas Bechtel, Kaden Decker, Isaac Elledge, Mussie Hochstetler, Nick Hofer, Blake Metzger, Jayden Riegsecker and Caleb Sillman
Other varsity athletes: Senior: Josh Yoder; Juniors: Caleb Borkholder, Ethan Garcia Mendoza, Mitchell Stump and Zeke Yoder; Sophomores: Curtis Drake, Brock Dunlap, Jackson Henry, Landon Hoagland and Martin Urcola; Freshmen: David Almiray, Cameron Cripe, Cadan Eppert, Bryce Geiger, Marshall Grotrian, Caden Herr, Waylon Herschberger, Conner LeCount, Isaac Maust, Blake Miller, Trevor Riegsecker, Stetson Schmucker and Denis Tsybulnik
Coach's comments on the upcoming season: "We are a very young team, and we are in a rebuilding mode. The athletes are very coachable, work hard, and pay attention to details. Our goal is to make steady progress in getting better at what we do and working at being a competitor."
GOSHEN REDHAWKS
Head coach: Mike Wynn, 1st season (29 prior as assistant coach at Goshen)
Assistant coaches: Lucas Kauffman and Scott Perry
Last season's record: 4-5 (3-4 NLC)
Returning letterwinners: Seniors: Tommy Claxton, Luis Loera and Rayhan Romo; Sophomores: Gabe Janisse and Isaiah Weishaupt
Other varsity athletes: Seniors: Eduardo Aguilar, Carter Bontrager, Cristian Guadarrama, Payton Hall, Logan Miller, Bryan Sixtos-Armas and Ethan Sutton; Juniors: Brady Abney, Jaime Carmona, Lincoln Clark, Caeden Evans, Lincoln Fisher, Kevin Garcia, Evan Hochstedler, Ethan Holdeman, Alex Lopez, Anderson Nozile, Ricco Olvera, Alex Orozco-Munoz, Cesar Ortiz Diaz, Jonathan Ruiz Altamirano, Boden Stutsman, Jason Vance and Andre Williams; Sophomores: Juan Alvarez Luciano, Aaron Anglemyer, Brock Elion, Mack Hochstetler, Peter Moser, Dominic Riley, Ben Romero, Owen Sutton and Brady Wiese; Freshmen: Alex Abad, Tyler Barkey, Guy Branam, Randy Carrillo, Nathan Corbin, Dorian Diaz, Cooper Fish, Daniel Kinsey, Christian Lopez, Dario Manzano, Cameron Perez and Jose Perez
JIMTOWN JIMMIES
Head coach: Dan Slabaugh, 3rd season (9-5 overall record)
Assistant coaches: AJ Schneider, Kenny Kerrn, Morgan Slabaugh and Isaac Daniels
Last season's record: 6-1 (3-1 NIC)
Returning letterwinners: Seniors: Caleb Koets and Nathan Leighton; Juniors: Colin Christman, Justin Price, Own SanGabriel, Aiden Svetanoff and Bishop Williams; Sophomores: Jose Cervantes, Steven Pendell and Christian Velazquez.
Other varsity athletes: Senior: Dustin Adams; Junior: Jackson Clopton; Sophomores: AJ Allen, Keegan Frantom and Steven Pendell; Freshmen: Tra Baldwin, Alex Bohlmann, Casen Campbell, Gabe Cole, Chase Coughenour, Tristan Harder, Aden Hartman, Brady Miller and Cayden Roberts
Coach's comments on the upcoming season: "Despite losing a lot of talent (Johntu Reed/Trent Daniels due to graduation, Conner Watts due to injury), we are extremely excited about this season. This team is full of hardworking, hungry athletes that love to compete. We have high expectations for Bishop Williams and what he can accomplish this season. I also can't wait to see what guys like Colin Christman, Owen SanGabriel, Jay Price, and Jose Cervantes can do. Additionally, I am excited to see newcomers like Chase Coughenour and Jackson Clopton pan out. I expect to see this team's hard work pay off this spring."
NORTHRIDGE RAIDERS
Head coach: Aaron Brick, 4th season (19-7 overall record)
Assistant coaches: Trisha King, Mandi Lloyd, Sam Miller, Ryan McClane, Clint Borntrager, Ricky Howey, Bobby Lloyd and Troy Rumfelt
Last season's record: 5-2 (5-2 NLC)
Returning letterwinners: Seniors: Jackson Bontrager, Will Knox, Jaxon Miller, Max Petersheim and Jonathan Spicher; Juniors: Graysen Beasley, Max Estep, David Gingerich, Damian Godman, Mathias Hazen, Marc Hernandez, Jett Mann, Trevin Schlabach, Brock Thompson and Jacob Wetzel; Sophomores: Joseph Keyser and Aiden Miller
Other varsity athletes: Seniors: Austin Abelseth, Aiden Bemis, Logan Bickel, William Brown, Jaiden Gronek, Brandon Olson, Max Petersheim, Reece Snider, Landon Story, Anthony Terranova, Micah Wieland and Noah Zmuda; Juniors: Carter Adams, Timothy Blough, Bradly Borsodi, Lain Carlisle, Emiliano Delgado, Harold Eichorn, Dante Garcia, Alexander Gard, Josue Gomez Gonzalez, Adam Guiterrez, Cesar Hernandez, Cole Hively, Bowen Husek, Jacob Knowles, Corbin Kollat, Mason Mast, David Miller, Joshua Miller, McClain Miller, Jonathan Mitschelen, Jacob Osborn, Max Rickly, Dylan Ritchie, Connor Stacy, James Vaneyk, Daniel Vaughn and Michael Warner-Squiers; Sophomores: Rustyn Bigler, Esteban Delgado, Cameron Dill, Kayden Heflin, Marc Hernandez, Joseph Keyser, Colin Mack, Dylan Robertson, Brady Searer, Avery Shanholt, Grant Snider, Parker Weber, Patrick Woods and Daniel Zambrano; Freshmen: Jason Bauta, Wyland Buck, Deslin Colar, Connor Davis, Jaden Fisher, Lucas Garber, Colton Groover, Tavien Gust, Brady Hicks, Cameron Jackson, Tristan Juroff, Degan Lenhart, Brock Lloyd, Rocco Martin, Baylor Miller, Landon Miller, Xavier Miller, Haydn Miner, Keaton Piercy, Landon Ritchie, Isaiah Rodzankas, Malachi Schalow, Peyton Woodward, Case Yoder and Derek Zapata
NORTHWOOD PANTHERS
Head coach: Mark Mikel, 2nd season (4-4 overall record)
Assistant coaches: Brian Ramer, Bill Mitschelen, Mike Marshall, Austin Hamsher, Taylor Knight and Tif Beer
Last season's record: 4-4 (3-4 NLC)
Returning letterwinners: Seniors: Jordan Burden, Troy Cutter, Cole Davies, Alex Escamilla, Daniel Medina, Jacob Moyer and JJ Payne; Juniors: Owen Allen, Logan Becker, Bereket Bennett, Tyler Bowman, Payton Griffen, Seth Russell and Jonathan Towler; Sophomores: Cohen Clayton, Will Hahn, Joe Mitschelen and Gavin Rulli
Other varsity athletes: Seniors: Casey Beasy, Montana Green, Brady Hartman, Alessandro Longo and Wesley Menzie; Juniors: Preston Andrews, Mason Bradley, Jo'Ziah Edmond, Noah Pollack, Lynkyn Ratcliff, Lucas Ramer, Mark Santos and Mason Yoder; Sophomores: Drew Anderson, Jace Davies, Bryce Knepp, Jonah Miller, Tucker Miller, Kyle Nicholes, Max Parciac, Braxton Parvu-Timmer and Landon Zimmerman; Freshmen: Wyatt Mast, AJ Furlow, Ashton Hahn, Austin King, Kyle Aristed, Hayden Lechlitner, Logan Marker, Colin Moyer, Henry Pfeiffer, Charles Red, Marshall Sell, Caleb Stutsman, Casin Truex and Jayden Zimmerman
Coach's comments on the upcoming season: "The expectations for the 2023 NorthWood Boys Track Team are to continue to build the program culture and to develop our track athletes as competitors in the Northern Lakes Conference and the Goshen Sectional."
WAWASEE WARRIORS
Head coach: Chase Pinion, 1st season
Assistant coaches: Clayton Cook, Chris Allen, Jose Lopez, Doug Slabaugh and Scott McDowell
Last season's record: 0-9 (0-7 NLC)
Returning letterwinners: Seniors: Braxton Gonzalez and Cameron Zimmerman; Juniors: Derek Bontrager, Landon Kessler, Lucas Linder, Senate Shaw, Summit Shaw, Mason Shoemaker, Dominic Speybroeck and Hunter Tinkey; Sophomores: Hunter Allen, Dakota Nguyen, Quentin Taylor and Isaac Winters
Other varsity athletes: Seniors: Josiah Boyer, Cody Hartley, Nick Clark, Daryk Richardson and Landon Sanders; Juniors: Zeke Ihnen, Brandon Kelly, Grant Likens, Trey Rollins, Dawson Schmucker, Luke Sharp, Stone Shipley, Joshua Trujilo and Xavioer Washington; Sophomores: Aidan Baugh, Gaige Boyd, Colin Compton, Cooper Garden, Weston Hoffert, William Ihnen, Luke Kompagne, John Likens, Bradyn Pike, Devin Sewell, Landon Stoffel and Isaac Winters; Freshmen: Benjamin Brace, Rielyn Brettell, Coltin Bucher, Alex Cabrera, Kassidy Carter, Braedon Clay, Louie Cole, Austin Harney, Addison Hatfield, William Hoy, Lucas Keim, Kyle Maxwell, Ethan Rodriguez, Jayden Rodriguez, Zaid Rolston, Jayden Stahl, Alex Tienda, Andrew Waugh, Andrew Yoder and Dalton Young
Coach's comments on the upcoming season: "I'm really excited about the number of guys we have out this year. Being able to fully field each event is a step in the right direction. Our guys are hungry for success and you can see that play out in their work ethic in practice. We are a fairly young team and each day is a day of learning and developing! No matter the end result of meets this year, we will improve as athletes, teammates, and young men."
WEST NOBLE CHARGERS
Head coach: Monte Mawhorter
Assistant coaches: Mike Flora, Ben Marano, Neal Kathery and Kyle Marano
Last season's record: 6-0 (NECC West Division champions)
Returning letterwinners: Seniors: Grant Flora, Wesley Hilbish, Isaish Lowe, Benjamin Shaw and Isaac Silva; Juniors: Zebidiah Pfenning and Evan Rodriguez; Sophomores: Devon Bartlett
Other varsity athletes: Seniors: Julian Carrillo, Alexandro Liera, Logan Schuller and Cy Wolheter; Juniors: River Bieberich, Alberto Guiterrez, Zachary Huff, Yahir Reyes and Andres Sandoval; Sophomores: Alex Berrocales, Jesse Castillo, Arturo Guzman, Deivid Haro Rodriguez, Nicholas Herrera, Eddy Macias, Alonso Murillo, Erik Murillo, Christian Rodriguez, Angel Servin, Jaylun Shaffer and Christopher Silva; Freshmen: Landen Bishop, Benaiah Burke, Julian Campos, Sebastian Castillo, Antonio Contreras, Lucas Conway, Peyton Franklin, Jose Galindo, Ryan Gross, Xavier Hofmeister, Brayden Knepper, Micah Lowe, Austin Null, Ivan Olvera, Dustin Richardson, Jacob Salas, Nathan Troxel Gonzalez, Cade Wolheter and Xavier Watts
WESTVIEW WARRIORS
Head coach: Matt Jones, 2nd season
Assistant coaches: Mandy Stone, Lyndon McDonald, Trey Kennedy and Autumn Montoya
Returning letterwinners: Seniors: Chase Miller, Caden Suddarth, Lyndon Miller, Adrian L. Miller, Chad Hershberger and Isaiah Hostetler; Juniors: Jacob Peruski, Nick Bontrager and Christien Noward; Sophomores: Cole Bontreger, Tristin Pearson, Asher Kennedy and Curtis Martin
Other varsity athletes: Seniors: Adrian Miller and Thibault Gillet; Sophomores: Kaiden Liechty and Omar Sala; Freshmen: Dallas Yoder, Alex Yoder, Kaleb Iddings, Bentley Ryall, Milan Miller, Noah Bontrager, Luke Hall and Chandler Johnson
Coach's comments on the upcoming season: "We are looking forward to having a very competitive season this year with a lot of experience mixed with our youth. We have some freshmen and a couple other newcomers that will step right in and score points for us along with a couple of upper classmen."
Austin Hough can be reached at austin.hough@goshennews.com or at 574-538-2360. Follow him on Twitter at @AustinHoughTGN.
