The Press-Dispatch

Lady Charger thin clads open with Princeton By James Capozella A small contingent of Lady Char- ger tracksters are led this season by seniors Lauren Young and Jen- na Meyer. Those two will handle the hurdles and sprints respective- ly. Four juniors, one sophomore and four freshmen make up the Lady Charger 2021 track and field team. Coach Chris Kramer is both Char- ger boys' and girls' track and field head coach and has help on and off the track from six assistants, nine se- nior boys and two senior girls. As- sistant coaches this year are Eric Knight, Sarah Gorby, Wil Teague, Kane Osgatharp, Clint Shoultz and Alyssa Jenkins. Coach Kramer stated, "The top re- turners for the girls are Morgan An- derson in the hurdles, Kayla Glad- ish in the throwing events and Jen- na Meyer in the sprint events. Also top returners are Quinlan Teague in the distance events, Erika Vinnedge in the throwing events and Lauren Young in the hurdles. A key newcom- er for the girls is sophomore Kenne- dy Willis in the distance events. "Out of all the team members on both the boys' and girls' teams, half of them are basically new because they are either freshman or they are a sophomore that didn't have a sea- son last year due to the pandemic canceling our season. Many of them have been doing other sports in the fall or winter though, so they have gotten used to the protocols and dif- ficulties with changes due to the pan- demic and also understanding the difference between middle school and high school competition." Coach added, "This season is go- ing to be very interesting for every- one because of not having a season last year. I would say that the ath- letes we have that have played in oth- er sports this school year have a little bit of an advantage in knowing what to expect in terms of just compet- ing. Some events, like hurdles, pole vault, high jump and throwing events can take some time to get back in- to a groove on getting the particular techniques correct after not doing them from season to season. With us not having a track season last year, it makes it even more of a challenge for those kids and it might take some time before they get back to where they were two seasons ago. "Our schedule seems to be set up in a way that we get a lot of dual or tri-meets early in the season to work out those kinks and then by the time late April and early May get here, we start getting a few invitationals to set us up for our conference and sectional meets at the end of the sea- son. With our overall numbers being a bit low for both the boys' and the girls' teams, the newcomers should get quite a bit of experience in the early part of the season. "For some kids, not all, track is probably not their favorite sport or the sport that they are the best at when compared to others they may compete in. Something that I just re- cently told them is that I'm not ex- pecting them to go out and win ev- ery event that they compete in, se- nior or freshman, but I am expecting them to give their best efforts in ev- erything that they do. As the season progresses, if they continue to give their best effort in competition and in practice, their results will speak for themselves. If they do a run- ning event, their times will be fast- er, if they are in a field event, their jumps will be higher or farther and throws will be longer than when they started at the beginning of the sea- son and that's what I look for. Their results are the only thing that they can control. "Track is very unique when com- pared to a lot of other sports in that, in most of the situation in which you compete, you can't control what an- other competitor does. You can on- ly control what you do, so you have to be willing to put in the time and effort to improve each week as the season progresses without worry- ing about what someone else is going to do." Junior Morgan Anderson will join Lauren Young in running the hurdles and freshman Ruby Sallee will line up with Jenna Meyer in the sprints de- partment. Sallee is also the team's pole vaulter. Junior Quin- lan Teague and sophomore Kennedy Wil- lis will chal- lenge the com- petition in the distance events, and juniors Kay- la Gladish and Er- ika Vinnedge will handle the throws, including shot put and discus. Fresh- men Kearstan Hartley, Savannah Ingle and An- drea Long will contribute in field events including the shot put and discus. The season kicks off for both Pike Central teams with a road trip to Princeton on Tuesday, March 30 beginning at 5:30 p.m. One big change from the normal Pike Cen- tral track schedule is the cancella- tion of the Pike Central Invitational, which was scheduled for April 22 at Prides Creek Park. The first home meet is April 6 at 6 p.m. with Tecumseh High School, followed by a trip to Vincennes on April 8 beginning at 5 p.m. The boys and girls host North Posey April 12 at 6 p.m. and then compete in the Jas- per invitational on Thursday, April 15 be- gin- ning at 4:30 p.m. April 19 brings South Spencer to Prides Creek with a 6:30 p.m. start. The Princeton Invitational is set for Tuesday, April 20. The Chargers host Washington and Barr-Reeve April 26 and then travel to Boonville for the Pioneer relays on May 3. The May 11 Pocket Athletic Conference Championships are at North Posey on Tuesday, May 11 and sectionals are at Princeton on Tuesday, May 18. The Pike Central 2021 girls' track team members are, front row (l to r): Savannah Ingle, Ruby Sallee, Morgan Anderson, Jenna Meyer and Kennedy Willis; back row: Kearstan Hartley, Aliya Rainey, Quinlan Teague, Kayla Gladish and Erika Vinnedge. Not pictured is Lauren Young. Lauren Young Jenna Meyer This season is going to be very interesting for everyone because of not having a season last year. I would say that the athletes we have that have played in other sports this school year have a little bit of an advantage in knowing what to expect in terms of just competing." Coach Chris Kramer The Press-Dispatch PCHS Spring Sports Preview Wednesday, March 24, 2021 D-5 In any sport, Four Star Fabricators encourages all Pike Central athletes to work hard, play tough, and win in life . Good Luck this season! Serving the Aluminum, Coal and Power Industries with Quality Steel Fabrication Phone: 354-9995 Fax: 354-3809 Four Star Fabricators P.O. Box 67, Petersburg, IN 47567 www.fourstarfab.com Variable Thereafter* SHOW YOUR SCHOOL SPIRIT and earn cash for the Pike Central Chargers with the German American Bank School Spirit Check Card * *Check card requires a German American checking account and approval of check card application. Each purchase you make will automatically earn your school $0.02, donated by German American Bank. Stop by any German American Bank office to request your School Spirit Check Card today! Visit germanamerican.com for a list of participating schools. net edition pressdispatch.net/edition Web, Smartphone, Tablet Streamline the Headline! 812-354-8500 • 820 Poplar St., Petersburg, IN • ads@pressdispatch.net

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