Highland hopes hard work offsets small numbers

The Highland High School girls track and field team will field only 17 total athletes at the majority of the meets, but coach Erin Cotto said being small in numbers should not hold the Lady Bulldogs back from accomplishing some big things this season.

“They are all hard workers and many of them are going to find themselves in multiple events throughout the season,” Cotto said. “They know we are small in numbers so they train hard in multiple events to offset the amount of athletes we are lacking in our team depth. With only 17 girls, many athletes will have to run in multiple events. While this can be burdensome on some athletes, we have been training since January to compete in this capacity.

“As a team, I'd like to see my girls as a competitive force in our bigger meets. We might be small in numbers, but we can still be a strong force to reckon with.”

Highland, which opens the outdoor season with a quadrangle meet Tuesday at Mascoutah, does include a nice mix of experienced runners and new girls out for the team.

Senior Allison Zobrist, junior Sarah Beth Wiegman and sophomore Rece Portell are returning members who scored big points for the Lady Bulldogs last spring and will be counted upon to do so again this season.

Zobrist and Wiegman will lead the way for the team’s distance crew. Both are previous state qualifiers on the track while both have also helped the Highland cross country program advance to state the past several seasons.

“Allison is healthy this year and has a lot of mileage under her belt, so she will be a big contender in the 800, 1,600 and 3,200,” Cotto said. “Sarah Beth has also put in her off-season mileage. Zobrist and Wiegman have both had strong indoor seasons and their times will continue to drop as the season progresses.”

Sophomore Rece Portell is fresh off the girls basketball team’s incredible playoff run which culminated in the team adding the Class 3A third-place state trophy to the school’s case. Portell should be a strong force in the middle distance races,the 800 and 400.

Senior Brianna Becherer junior Ariel Smock will lead the sprinters.

“Brianna has trained hard throughout the off season,” Cotto said. “She looks strong this year in the 400 and will help out in our sprint relays as well. Ariel also looks good in the sprints and she will also be triple jumping for us in many meets.”

Sophomore Alyssa Freimann is a solid 400 runner, as evidenced by her second-half surge last season as as freshman. She also will be joining the distance crew at times in the 800.

Juniors Courtney Hengehold and Sydney Nyquist are two distance runners who will help out in the 1,600 and 3,200.

“Don't be surprised to see them in an 800 as well because both have had PRs (personal records) in the 800 races they have ran indoor,” Cotto said.

Lily Becker, the team’s lone freshman distance runner, has shown some impressive indoor times as well. She will also be a strong competitor in the 800 and 1,600.

Mackenzie Schoeck and Leah Sutton are both new members of the team this year.

“They both have been training hard and I look forward to their performances this year on the track,” Cotto said.

In addition, Schoeck will compete in the high jump and Sutton will long jump.

Sophomores Taylor Braswell and Emma Drysdale are returning members who will be running sprints this year as well. The duo will also help in the fields events, with Braswell throwing the shot put and Drysdale executing the high jump.

In the throws, the Lady Bulldogs have a solid core of girls. Junior Polly Czar, who threw for the team last year, is looking strong. Czar will be joined by Braswell as well as freshmen Abby Beyer and Morgan Mesle.

“Czar, Braswell and Beyer have all thrown farther this year in indoor meets than they did last season,” Cotto said. “I am excited to see what Mesle can bring to us as well.”

Junior Lyndi Stone and and freshman Kate Marti will be helping out with the track team when they are available, but their first priority is the soccer team.

“When they are available for us, this will help free up some of the girls for other events in meets as well,” Cotto said.

Sophomore Kali Rutz is Highland’s lone pole vaulter.

“I look forward to seeing her PR in both the vault and on the track,” Cotto said.

This story was originally published March 21, 2016 at 3:45 AM with the headline "Highland hopes hard work offsets small numbers."