The boys? track squad hopes their balance will be Too Much for some of their opponents in one of the state’s best leagues.
Why is TM capitalized, you ask? It’s simple?
‘We still have some balance and that’s been a trademark of ours over the years,? Coach Stan Ford said.
Another trademark in recent years has been a big turnout, and that hasn’t changed a bit.
‘At some point, 140 kids have given me information, though I only handed out 95 uniforms so far,? Ford noted.
The coach said he expects a final team roster to be over 100 athletes deep.
‘We have a lot of freshmen and sophomores and a lot of first-year runners,? he said. ‘As a coaching staff, we’re excited about having young, enthusiastic kids.?
Ford said he is particularly excited to see how some of the newcomers fare at the ninth grade meets the team has scheduled.
As a whole, he expects to see plenty of improvement over the next month and a half.
‘These kids will get better and better,? Ford said. ‘From a coach’s point of view, that’s all you want.?
Rochester is the defending OAA I league champ, though the Dragons beat them in a dual meet last season.
‘We’ll be a better dual meet team than a big meet team,? he said.
But Ford quickly noted that the entire league is tough, including Adams, Troy, West Bloomfield, Clarkston and Southfield, which will make for an interesting league meet later this spring. He said West Bloomfield will bring plenty of sprinters to the table in Thursday’s meet at Lake Orion.
The formula for success against the Dragons? Ford said it’s likely having a distance runner or two that can steal some points from his team.
‘We have a lot of depth in our distance,? he said. ‘But while that’s a strong area, it’s still a young area.?
Team captains include mid-distance runner Kyle Lawton, thrower Ethan Ruhland, hurdler Niklas Rippon and 200-400 specialist Jeremy Andridge. All four are seniors.
Ford said the addition of senior transfer A.J. Palko could help the team earn points in shot put and sprinters Matt Turner (a junior) and seniors Alex Hare and Robby Lentz will all be heavily relied on, as the team lost a good deal of their sprinters from last season.
Hare and Lentz should also earn points in the high jump and long jump, respectively.