The spring sports season in Nebraska high school athletics is officially upon us. The Broken Bow girls and boys track teams are preparing for the upcoming season. Ryan Wetovick returns as head coach of the Broken Bow track program and took time to visit with KCNI/KBBN sports director Brent Apperson to preview the season. Coach Wetovick said numbers are strong with 66 athletes joining the track program this season.
“Yeah, we have sixty six kids signed up so a lot of newcomers, good freshman class has come out and everybody from last year returning. Still have a smaller senior class of boys and a good size senior class of girls that will graduate after this year but great numbers and good kids right now. Everybody’s been working hard so it’s been a good start.”
District competition will look a bit different for Broken Bow this year than it has in recent years. Broken Bow will travel west this season for districts as they will be part of the B-6 district meet at Alliance in May. Wetovick shared his thoughts on seeing some different teams at this year’s district competition.
“Yeah, something new, something exciting. I don’t know how excited everyone is for that bus trip to Alliance, but you know, there’s still great teams out there. You throw in McCook, you throw in Gothenburg, Cozad and Sidney. There’s a lot of great teams out there, just like we’d always seen in the B-5. There was a lot of great teams there with Northwest, Adam Central, and Hastings High. We’re excited for a new change and a new venue. So it’ll be something new and exciting, I think, for everyone.”
On the boys side, Coach Wetovick believes the throws such as the shot put and discus will be a strong area for the team led by returning state qualifiers Drew Ellis and Gunner Baltz.
“Yeah, especially on the boys side early, I think obviously with Drew Ellis returning He’s only a junior and he’s had some big throws out there as a returning state qualifier. Gunner Baltz is also a returning state qualifier in the discus. Those two kind of lead that group. They know how hard it is to work on technique. Not necessarily how far you can throw at every throw in practice, but how to really fine-tune your technique to allow you to have some success as the season grows.”
On the girls side, Wetovick believes the relays, specifically the 4×400 and 4×800 meter relays, have the opportunity to be very competitive.
“Yeah, I think the girls side, we’ve got great competition right now for our 1600 relay and our 3200 relay. Obviously they’re both kind of led by our senior Halle Quinn. She’s been a great runner for us. Ashlyn Schauda is in there. We’ve got Newcomer Bailey Faltys, freshman Baylee Clark, and we return Aliya Myer… It looks really strong right now. So, once we get in shape and get to where we want to be, those relays will be not only competitive in our district, but could be competitive, you know, across Class B.”
Broken Bow begins its season on March 27th when they travel to the Aurora Invite.
