Utica’s Hailey Quinif releases the discus at the Mount Vernon News SpecTrackular on May 3, 2019, at Fredericktown High School. Quinif finished fifth in the event with a toss of 86-foot-5. Quinif is one of nine seniors on the Utica track and field team, which had its season canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
UTICA — Second-year coach Zak Holland was really starting see his runners buying into his system. Couple that with an increase in numbers, and the Utica boys and girls track team could have had an exciting season.
“It was paying huge dividends,” Holland said. “The kids were buying in — hitting times in practice that they had never hit in meets. I think we were going to do some really good things this year.”
“Our primary sprint time was probably only be 20 minutes and then we’re going home because I didn’t want to do anything that would be too fatiguing for the next day,” he said. “We would have some very hard days, but still very minimal reps.”
Utica finished fifth out of five teams in the Licking County League Cardinal Division in both boys and girls last season and sent two to regional, including Danielle Wydick, who graduated last year. The team also lost Justin Riley, who was a four-time indoor triple-jump state qualifier and a one-time champion.
Holland hoped to parlay the increase in numbers and the new system into a successful season.
“My goal was to try get a couple of individuals and some relays to the regional meet,” Holland said. “Realistically, I think we could have taken down a couple of school records between the boys and the girls (teams).”
Buying into the system was key, and senior Sierra Hill was a leader.
“I guess I was wanting it more,” Hill said. “It took me a while to really get into track. It was just me figuring out that I really wanted. So, I was just putting in more effort.”
“She tore down a lot of mental barriers,” Holland said. “She wasn’t breaking 60 in the 400. Last year, where she would have gotten to 200 in the race and then jogged, she was now sprinting a full race. She was leading workouts with a full effort. She embraced the role of a senior leader.”
Senior Nick Martinsen was supposed to return at pole vault after qualifying for regional last season.
“Nick Martinsen had a chance (to go after a school record) because of the way he was developing in other sports,” Holland said. “He was really coming in gunning for that this year.”
Utica was pretty deep in sprinting on both the boys and girls teams. Seniors Landon Hartman and Joey Geiger and junior Mason Loper were going to be the top returners on the boys side.
Junior Shane Weakley, sophomores Dom Weakley and Seth Cooper and freshman Logan Scarberry rounded out the group.
The girls team was going to be very young. Laura Brubaker, Riley Waggoner, Hailey Jones and Maddie Reed are all freshmen. Brubaker and Waggoner were already slated for big things.
“(They) would have made up about half of our relay teams,” Holland said. “(Brubaker) could have gone after the 300-hurdle (school) record. Riley Waggoner could have gone after the 300 record. Put those two in any of our relay teams along with a senior, Kallie Robinson, who came over from softball, and Sierra Hill. I think our relays were really looking good.”
Jones, Brubaker and Waggoner were set to compete as pole vaulters.
Senior Pierce Jordan and sophomores Jay Figgins and Silas Buckenberger were slated to be distance runners and junior Kai Humphries was going to sprint and run middle distance. Freshman Bree Priest was supposed to be both a distance and middle-distance runner on the girls team.
Junior Chandler Hartman threw shot put and discus. He was going to supplement that with a 4x100 to work on foot speed.
Senior shot putter Hailey Quinif will be heading to Mount Vernon Nazarene University. Senior Abbey Kellett, junior Rachel Bryant, sophomores Montana Wolfe and Olivia Bryant and freshman Kennedy Reid rounded out the throwers on the girls side.
“We created some depth, which was going to give us more options as far as invitationals,” Holland said. “We doubled our number of athletes from last year to this year.”
