LIBERTY, Ind. – The Union County track teams start fast in the 2016 season as the Patriots host Tri-Eastern Conference foes Winchester and Lincoln on Tuesday, April 5.
“I am expecting the boys team to be competitive in the conference once again and I am excited to see what this year’s team can accomplish,” Union County Coach Matt Snyder said. “We should be deep in the sprint and jump events, and our distance group returns almost everyone from a year ago.”
“We have a brand new group of throwers this year and the success of the team in the conference could hinge on how well those individuals grow throughout the season,” Snyder said. “Our girls team took a hit in overall numbers which may hurt our overall team success, but we still have plenty of individual talent that could advance in the state tournament.”
“Our deepest area of the team is our distance group, which returns mostly everyone from last year,” Snyder continued about the girls squad. “We also have our top two throwers back from the previous year and we are expecting big things out of them.”
Both teams finished second in the TEC last spring as Hagerstown won each title/
“Last year, we were beaten in a close conference meet by a very good Hagerstown team,” Snyder said of the boys meet. “Hagerstown is the top team in the conference until someone takes the title away from them, and we expect them to be one of the top three teams in the conference again. We expect our team to be competitive in the conference again this year, but Hagerstown will be the team to beat.”
And on the girls side?
“I expect Hagerstown to be the favorite to win the conference meet again,” Snyder said. “They had a lot of young talent that I expect is returning and should be excellent once again. Unfortunately our girl’s team will not be able to compete as a team, but we want to win as many individual events as possible.”
The top athletes for the boys are Isaac Bentley, Breyden Wicker, Josh Nixon, Matt Snyder, Derek Dearth, Justin Beasley and Luke Haas.
Bentley won the TEC title in the long jump, while Wicker was the conference champ in the 1,600 meters.
“We expect big things out (Isaac) not only as a runner, but as a leader as well,” Snyder said. “We look for him to be compete for the 100 and 200 titles this year.”
“Breyden is one of our few seniors on this year’s roster and has always been a great leader for our younger distance runners,” Snyder added.
Sammie Elleman, who is a two-time TEC champion in the discus, tops the girls list of returnees.
“Sammie has been a tremendous leader for the younger throwers,” Snyder said. “We look forward to what she will be able to accomplish this year.”
Anevay Antrim, won both the 800 meters and 1,600 meters in the TEC last year.
“Her season ended earlier than she would have liked last year and she has the goal to make it to state,” Snyder said. “Anevay is ultra competitive and is focused and working extremely hard to accomplish her goal.”
Others back are Samantha Crowe, Kelsey Liming, Kirsten Hill and Samantha Ramey.
The newcomers in the program for the boys are Ryan Hensley, Drew Cole and Dakota Lewellen, while the girls have Nora West.
In addition to Snyder the coaches for the Patriots are Rich Padgett, Alan Bell, Brad Snyder and Chuck Snyder.