Even though there may be a large group of freshmen and, conversely, not an overabundance of upper-class leaders for the Warrenton girls' track team this season, there is plenty of depth and a talented junior class which should help those around the program have lofty expectations.

After all, among the 10 returning letter winners from a season ago are juniors Avery Shaw and Morgan Marschel, both of whom made it to the state meet in 2023, with Shaw qualifying in the shot put and Marschel in the 400.

"I think we have a strong team in a lot of areas with a chance to compete for a conference title," Shaw said.

Marschel took expectations a step further.

"I think we could have multiple sectional qualifiers from our sprinters and relays this year," she said.

The duo should do well to lead the way this season, as well, as Shaw (shot put, discus, javelin) and Marschel (400 meters, 4x100 relay) return in search of personal and team glory.

For third-year coach John Jeskey, the glory would start with a first-place GAC North Conference finish and extend to multiple Warriors earning spots in the Class 4 state meet.

“I would like to see our young team, we have a lot of freshmen, learn from our solid core of upperclassmen and develop throughout the season to be ready to contribute at the varsity level for conference and districts,” Jeskey said. “During my tenure as head coach, we have had multiple state qualifiers each year. This year we will be looking towards our upperclassmen leaders to help continue that trend and bring home a state medal for the first time since 2016.”

The Warriors opened the season on March 19 at the Montgomery County Early Invitational before competing on March 22 at the North Point Invite.

The team will next run on April 1 at Fort Zumwalt East.

On the boys' side, senior distance runner Wyatt Claiborne said that, much like the girls, the boys are a young team that aims to make continual strides under new coach Mark Thomas.

Those strides, the distance runner said, are ones that he hopes will allow him to run all the way to the state meet in Jefferson City as he did as a sophomore in finishing 15th in the state in the 1600 meters.

"I feel that the team as a whole has shaped up to perform pretty well this season,” Claiborne said. “Personally, I would like to return to the state meet like I did my sophomore year and break some school records, particularly in the 1600 and 800."

Thomas said that he’s excited to see just what several key returning athletes can do across several respective disciplines.

The coach mentioned Claiborne and senior Phillip Kackley (also a distance runner in the 800 and 1600) as those with rather large expectations.

“We hope that they can see individual improvements from last year and show continued growth toward districts,” Thomas said. “We graduated two state qualifiers and have had some injuries on the boys' side that were a major part of our relay teams so we are working to find the right group to move into those roles.” 

The coach said that several younger faces could well play significant roles as the season progresses.

“We have several underclassmen that we are hoping will be able to contribute throughout the season,” Thomas said. “Our goal is to see improvement in all of our competitors throughout the spring. We hope to represent Warrenton well each time we go out and compete like all of our athletic and activities do.”  

Just like the girls' team, the Warriors opened the season on March 19 at the Montgomery County Early Invitational before competing on March 22 at the North Point Invite.

The team will next run on April 1 at Fort Zumwalt East.