Ready to break out – Greenville Daily News

CARSON CITY — When Grant Woodman spoke at the annual Carson City-Crystal boys and girls track and field team banquet, he reflected on the good year both teams had, but also emphasized how the results of this year could catapult the program in making history next year.

Carson City-Crystal freshman Zane Forist made a huge splash this season, placing second in the discus and eighth in the shot put at the Division 4 state finals. He will be one of next year’s leaders for the Eagles, which also will feature 2019 Division 4 3,200-meter champion sophomore Coleman Clark. — DN file photo

“I told them there was a school within 20 miles of us that won a state title with just three guys,” said Woodman, the teams’ head coach speaking of the Ithaca boys track team, which clinched the Division 3 team title, getting almost all its points from just three athletes. “They won by a point. I think we can do that.”

The Eagles were represented by nine athletes at the Division 4 state finals this season, with five of them being underclassmen, including 3,200-meter state champion Coleman Clark and freshman Zane Forist, who burst onto the throwing scene by finishing second in the discus and eighth in the shot put at the state finals.

“We’ve got many more kids that can score in the finals format than (Ithaca) could,” Woodman said. “With Coleman and Zane, they’re only going to go up with senior opponents having graduated.”

He also pointed out Cavanaugh Barker, a freshman who qualified for the state finals in both the 110- and 300-meter hurdles, had a cluster of seniors ahead of him in both events that won’t be there to challenge him next year.

“Not even counting anyone else to break into the scene next year, I think we can challenge for a state championship,” Woodman said. “The average winning point totals for state finals in track is usually between 40 and 55 points. So that’s our goal.”

Forist could once again dominate the throwing event, along with teammate John Ewalt, who also performed at the state finals as a junior. Woodman credits middle school track coach Michael Porter for getting these young guys ahead of progress in their events.

Carson City-Crystal junior Allyson Stevens, left, was one of the Eagles’ leaders for distance runners this year and will be expected to play an even bigger role next year. Sophomore Coleman Clark, right, won the Division 4 3,200-meter race at this year’s state finals. — DN file photo

“He has been working with Zane quite a lot,” Woodman said of Porter. “I knew Zane was going to be good but I didn’t think he was going to be that good that fast. He has a great wingspan and he’s the kind of kid that was running before school in the offseason and throwing in the winter when no one else was. The success there, yes, it’s surprising, but then again, it’s not.”

Woodman, who is also the Eagles cross country coach, can’t help but grin when thinking of next track season already with the group he has coming back. This year was the largest turnout in athletes — both teams combined — that Woodman has ever had, with as many as 40 athletes competing in track and field this year, when traditionally Woodman will only see as many as 25 or 30.

“The boys team obviously benefitted more from that,” he said. “They brought with them a group that hadn’t lost since middle school.”

Woodman believes the Eagles varsity track and field program is seeing lots of success owing to the winning culture coming from its middle school group, which has been making a lot of headway through the Mega Star tournament at Shepherd High School, which is a middle school version of the state finals.

“We took pretty much the entire team to Mega Star, with Cavanaugh and Zane, and including the Clark twins (Coleman and Calvin, also a sophomore) when they were younger, and it helped us immensely.”

One Eagles athlete who flourished at the middle school level was Ashton Keiffer, now a freshman who completed his first year on varsity, competing in the 3,200-meter relay and 1,600-meter race.

The Eagles coaching staff was looking for great things from Keiffer coming into his first varsity track year, but then he imploded, Woodman said, which Keiffer blamed the rigors of cross country training and a not-so-great diet for his poor start in track.

“I definitely changed my diet this year, eating more protein and iron, because my body just crashed during the cross country season,” Keiffer said. “I changed my mindset, too. I didn’t expect great (personal records) this season in track so I thought I’d just have some fun with it.”

At the team’s annual training trip to Alabama, Woodman saw the Ashton Keiffer he was hoping for.

Molly Dailey was an All-State athlete as a sophomore, finishing eighth in the 800-meter race at the Division 4 state finals this spring. — DN file photo

“He went on that trip and he busted his tail,” Woodman said. “To make the state finals as a freshman, that’s a big turnaround for him.”

Another underclassman, sophomore Molly Dailey, earned All-State honors with her eighth-place finish in the 800-meter race, giving the Eagles yet another young runner returning with experience at the biggest stage in high school track.

“She is probably the biggest success story on the girls side this year,” Woodman said. “She’s quiet, but she goes about it as a role model with what she does. But that vocal side of her is coming. She’s still only going to be a junior. Next year, I think she will be much more vocal and by her senior year, she’ll be coming into her own.”

Dailey credits her regiment of running more miles each time at practice and assistant coach Kyle Coblentz’s confidence in her, which, in turn, boosted her confidence.

“He put me in a lot of events that he thought I could be successful in,” she said. “I’m looking forward to next year’s state meet and seeing if I can get faster.”

Woodman also praised junior distance runner Allyson Stevens, who is looked upon by her peers as a leader.

“I definitely think Coleman and Allyson were great team leaders for us this year,” Keiffer said. “They helped all of us accomplish our goals.”

Though is girls team was small, which is traditionally the case, Woodman sees a lot of good talent and leadership coming back, including Stevens and Sarah McCrackin.

“We’ll have a lot of juniors becoming seniors, and Sarah and Allyson, they were leaders early in their careers,” Woodman said. “I think now, girls like Allyson, they’re going to be more vocal, they’re going to be a more vocal leader. Allyson was always good at differing leadership to her elders, but now that she will be the elder, we’re going to see a different attitude from her.”

Dailey saw the hard work the entire team put in to succeed this year and expects the same approach for next year.

“I think our team this year did a very good job, but there is still room for improvement,” she said.

With reigning MSAC champion Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart graduating much of its talent from this year, Woodman sees the door opening a little wider for CC-C’s chance to earn a league title.

“I definitely think we can contend for a league title for both boys and girls, but we can’t just watch it happen,” he said. “If we work hard enough and perform how I expect, I think we will be much further in contention than we ever have been.”