Serving Lucas, Ottawa, Sandusky and Wood Counties
Head coach Shane Dyer enters his second season in charge of the Gibsonburg track program, and he’s excited for this year despite the always enjoyable early season weather.
“The kids are excited to get going,” he said. “The weather is just tough with being so cold. The first two days we practiced it was nice and sunny, and then it’s cold again. It’s just hard to make sure they stay healthy and they don't injure themselves and not go too hard. They're excited, though. Hopefully, we get some good weather and get some good workouts in for these kids. The whole goal is to make them a little faster and see how fast we can make them, or how far they can jump or throw, and just set some goals and see if we can reach them.”
Last season, the boys team finished third in the SBC, while the girls finished seventh.
Three individuals also competed in the state meet. McKenzie Montgomery, who is now a junior, finished fourth in the pole vault on the girls side, while Anthony Caprara came in 11th overall in the 3200 meter run as a senior. Grant Dawson, who is now competing for the University of Mount Union, competed in the high jump.
Dyer is high on the potential of Montgomery, and he feels she could compete for the state title this year.
“She’s a very good jumper in the pole vault,” he said. “She works hard and the sky's the limit for her. She just has to figure out a couple things. Once that gets figured out, I think she can do very, very well at state again and make podium if all goes well. She’s constantly working on it. She goes to a couple different pole vault coaches to help her, and they do a great job with her getting to those heights.”
The girls team, which features zero seniors, also returns junior distance runner Macey Kohler, who took sixth at the SBC in the 1600 last year. Ava Dawson finished third in the league in the high jump as a rookie.
A couple of throwers are also back in junior Kayla Quaintance and sophomore Esie Oman. Dyer is high on their raw potential.
“Who knows what they can do once they learn the technique,” he said. “It just depends on how quick they pick this up. It's early in the season, so it's hard for me to tell as young as they are.”
Freshman Jorja Flores could also make an impact as a runner.
“Our team is young,” Dyer said. “We have no seniors on the girls team. It's small. We're probably in the mid-teens for girls. More than half of our team is freshmen and sophomores.”
Boys back after strong SBC showing
The boys feature four seniors which include Tyler Hill, Aiden Morant, Aiden Nims, and Dasch Sutter.
At last year’s SBC Championship, Hill finished third in the 800 and fourth in the 1600. He was also a member of the 4x400 relay team that won the league and the 4x800 team that finished second.
“Tyler is a good mid-distance runner,” Dyer said. “He's got some goals in the 800 and mile. He'd like to make it to state. He's been getting closer and closer and his times are getting closer and closer. That's good to see.”
Nims was a member of Gibsonburg’s 4x100 and 4x200 teams that finished fourth in the SBC.
“He is probably one of our best sprinters,” Dyer said.
Sutter is new to the team and will throw, Dyer said.
“We got some boys that can throw that are very, very close to each other in throws, like Dasch, Haydin Brown, and Zach Fruth. They're all very, very close, even Max Kayser, who has a lot of potential but is only a sophomore.”
The team’s best thrower, though, is Hunter Wasserman, who made regionals last year as a sophomore. He finished fifth in the SBC in shot put and eighth in discus.
“Hunter has good feet and that helps you get around the ring and do some good things,” Dyer said.
Keaton Sheidler, who finished 12th in the 800m at the SBCs last year, and Jimmy Sidell are also back.
“They’ve been running indoor track, and they’ve been getting better and better,” Dyer said. “Jimmy's a hurdler, and Keaton’s a young mid-distance runner. They're trying to get a little better and better.”
Freshman Xander Shreffler could also play a role on the relay teams, too.
Overall thoughts
Despite just four total seniors, Gibsonburg features 17 combined freshmen on the two rosters, as well as seven sophomores on each team and 14 total juniors.
“Track is a lot of fun,” Dyer said. “It’s more of a social event. You get to know a lot of people from other schools, and you get to talk to them. It really is a lot of fun. It’s probably one of the most fun things I get to coach. They cheer just as much for the person who finishes last as they do for the person who finishes first, especially in those distance races where you got the one or two kids that are just struggling to finish it and everybody in the stands is cheering him on. The atmosphere for track is just a different thing. They still compete, but they still congratulate each other and cheer each other on. That's what I like. It's just a fun sport to coach.”
Dyer is also going to make sure to enjoy this year as it’s the last in the SBC with the current format.
“With the shakeup in the SBC, it's just a different vibe,” he said. “It’s going to be the last year that we do all three divisions at the same time, then we split off and the other ones split off, and it's going to be a different feel.
“This year's SBC meet will be kind of bittersweet because it's kind of fun to watch the other two divisions run with us. It’s an interesting meet, the way it's run. That part I'll miss, so hopefully we can enjoy the last season with the SBC the way it is and get ready to move on and compete in the new SBC.”
