By Staff
INMAN – It was a highly successful 2022 track/field season for the Inman Teutons as the boys won Class 2A Regionals and placed third at the state meet with one state champion while the Lady Teutons finished 17th at the state meet.
Both the Teuton boys and Lady Teutons return a lot of talent for 2023 and will be seen as strong favorites to compete for both regional and state championships
“Our 2023 season looks to be an exciting season for both boys and girls track teams,” explained head coach Lance Sawyer. “We return a lot of talent that competed really well in the state track meet last season and will have one of the largest teams we have had in a long time. We will be aiming to compete for hardware in Wichita at the end of the season.”
Highlighting the Teuton boys will be the return of senior Harrison Brunk who scored a state title in the 200 meters while finishing third in the 100 meters and running a leg on both the second-place 100 and 400 meter relay teams. Harrison holds school records in both the 100 (10.74) and 200 (22.07) meters, plus the 4×100 (42.98) and 4×400 (3:25.76) relay teams.
Others returning with state meet experience for the Teutons will be junior Tanner Heckel (runner up in 4×100, x400 relays plus long jump), and senior Eli Brunk (runner up in 4×100, x400 relays plus 5th in 300 hurdles, 6th in 110 hurdles).
Seniors Josiah Buller (800 meters, 4×800 relay), Dominic Nuese-Rasmussen (Discus), and Eli Leck (Javelin) plus juniors Kellen Schrag (800 meters, 4×800 relay), and Zachary Martisko (mid-distance, 4×800 relay) plus sophomore Sebastian Martinez (discus) are among other letter winners returning.
Coaches are looking forward to seeing how freshman Tyler Martisko does in the 1,600 and 3,200 meters after qualifying for state in cross country during the fall season, plus sophomore Hunter Plooster running the 400 and 800 meters and foreign exchange student Felix Farnebo in the sprints.
The Lady Teutons will also be returning a sizable number of athletes after finishing 17th at the 2022 state meet.
Among those returning will be Madilyn Heflin, a junior, who placed third at state in the 100 hurdles, fourth in the 300 hurdles while running a leg on the fifth-place 4×400 relay team. Heflin also holds the school record in both the 300 (48.15) and 1200 (15.78) hurdles.
Junior Madelyn Brunk and Rebecca Black also return after running legs on the 4×400 relay team that placed fifth. Both will also run legs on the 4×100 and 4×800 relay teams while Brunk will run the 800 meters as well.
Sophomore Katie Nichols will be back to compete on the relays and 100 meters as well as field events like the high jump and long jump. Juniors Chloe Schmidt and Brylee Mannebach will lead the field events with Schmidt doing the discus and javelin while Mannebach throws the shot put while doing both the long and triple jumps. Maci Neufeld will be back to throw the shot put and discus for her senior season while senior Kadence Welch is hoping to recover from a leg injury in basketball to get some throws in for the discus and javelin.
Among the newcomers which coach Sawyer is looking forward to seeing compete will be junior Maider Fernandez, a foreign exchange student from Spain who will compete for time on the relay teams while freshmen Morgan Froese will push for success in the jumps and Allee Mannebach looks to run the hurdles.
The Teutons open their 2023 track/field season on Tuesday, April 4 in Hillsboro at a meet hosted by Berean Academy before going to Halstead on Tuesday, April 11.
(The Staff covering events for the MAC AREA SPORTS NEW can be reached by email at crossdovewriter@gmail.com)