Several Indians are eyeing state finals

First-year track coach Brent Niekamp takes over two teams in drastically different positions.
The Indian girls are coming off of a season in which they finished third in the Midwest Athletic Conference to match their best league result in school history.
Although he hasn’t had much time to work with some members of his team because of their run to the state finals in girls basketball, Niekamp said he’s excited about their possibilities this season based on past results.
“I think for the girls we have lots of people who can contribute lots of places,” he said. “It could equal a lot of points at some of those big meets.”
Fort Recovery’s boys were ninth out of 10 teams in the MAC in 2010 after finishing last in each of the previous six seasons.
“The fun thing about track is it’s an individual sport where you can just look at your own improvement,” said Niekamp, who also coaches football for FRHS. “And so that’s what we’re emphasizing to these guys.
“I had all those guys write down their personal goals. That’s what they’re going for. … That’s going to translate to the best team effort we can get.”
Returning to lead the girls team is 2010 state medalist Holly Brunswick, a stand-out in the long jump, high jump, sprints and 100-meter hurdles.
The senior earned her state medal as she tied for eighth place in the high jump in Division III last season. She was won the MAC high and long jump titles, and was a regional qualifier in three events.
After her state finals experience last season, she immediately set the goal of returning to Columbus in multiple events this year.
“Being new to the track program and seeing her in other avenues of athletics, she’s really impressive,” said Niekamp. “And she’s one of the strongest girls we have. That translates into power and speed. She can do a lot of things.”
Only one Indian — Sam Tobe — other than Brunswick qualified for the regional last season, but a large group of others fell just short of the top-four district finish needed to advance.
Tobe finished fourth in the district last season in the 3,200 run and is part of a strong group of Tribe distance runners. Alexis Sutter (1,600 run), Abby Huelskamp (800 run) and Nicole Heitkamp (3,200 run) all finished among the top eight in the district in their events last season, Tobe, Sutter and Huelskamp were part of the 4x800 relay team that placed fifth in the district.
The distance group also includes freshman Elle Sutter, who made a trip to the state finals in cross country during the fall.
Returning sprinters Kylie Kahlig, Kelsey Fiely and Brunswick were part of several school-record-breaking relay efforts last season, and their 4x100 team finished fifth in the district. Niekamp said he expects several freshmen, including Alex Shelton, who was one of the top sprinters at last season’s middle school MAC meet, to contribute in the sprints as well.
And though Kahlig nearly made the regional with a fifth-place district finish in the 200 dash last season, she may make even great contributions to the team in field events. The junior was the MAC champion in the shot put a year ago, winning the event by nearly three feet.
“(Kahlig) is real competitive,” said Niekamp. “And she’s really, really strong. … That’s a great thing. …
“(Elle Sutter) is just real natural. She has a nice long stride. … She covers a lot of distance.
“It’s fun working with these kids. … They know how to work hard and they know how to push themselves.”
Junior Aaron Vagedes was Fort Recovery’s lone regional qualifier in boys track last season, and could be a contender for a state berth in several events this year.
Vagedes fell just an inch short of reaching the state finals in the long jump last season, placing fifth in the regional. He was the MAC champion in the event, and also finished as the district runner-up.
“I know that he’s real close to school records in the long jump and the 200 and the 400, and I think he’s going to be real close in the 100 this year too,” said Niekamp. “And with Aaron, we’ve got to figure out what we’re going to emphasize.”
Ryan Heitkamp was the only other Tribe boy to place in the top 10 in the district last season, finishing ninth in the 3,200 run. The squad has just 10 athletes — two seniors, three juniors and five freshmen — this season.
“We’ve got some really young kids,” said Niekamp. “If they can keep getting better, keep getting stronger, keep feeling good about it … that’s a victory to me.”[[In-content Ad]]