By Derrick Forsythe, Record Sports Editor
Last season Coach Mike Spoede took nearly his entire girls team to state. It was a year of quality over quantity, with just six competitors participating in most meets. If Spoede can accomplish the same this spring, it will be a far more impressive feat. This time he has a deeper pool of 17 athletes with which to work. Twelve of those are newcomers. “We have two big seniors to work the team around,” said Spoede. “After that we’re kind of unproven.” Melora Broker will assume a leadership role in the running events, having been a two-year fixture in the varsity program. She has reached state the past seasons as a member of the 3200-meter relay team. “Melora has proven she can help us in a lot of different events,” said Spoede. This year she will focus on the open 800-meter race, steering away from the hurdling events she experimented with last spring. She may also become a factor on the sprint relay teams. “She got through districts last year in the open 200, so it definitely shows she has some speed,” said Spoede. “With it being her last year, we want to focus on her strongest events.” The Warriors will need to fill vacancies on the 3200 relay team, including that of four-year varsity veteran Emily Mauch. The team’s anchor, Hannah Keene, has also decided to forgo her final track season.Senior Melanie Raterman has become one of the program’s most heralded throwers, setting a new record in the discus. She fell shy of the finals last spring at state after battling a shoulder injury. “She’s coming in better this year injury wise,” said Spoede. “She’s really tuned in on the discus and picking up where she left off last year as record holder. We can count on her for points at every meet we go to.” Warrenton’s distance events will be highlighted by sophomore Madeline Carlson, who qualified for the state cross country meet in the fall. She will run the mile and two mile. “She’s got some pretty high expectations,” said Spoede. “She’s pretty much the anchor of our distance program right now.” While she wasn’t able to qualify for state, junior Daphne Meine enjoyed success throughout the season in the high jump. “She has done well for our program and brings a lot of leadership qualities to help some of the younger kids in their steps,” said Spoede. As tradition with Spoede, he was mute about the unproven underclassmen but says there is some speed that could assist the Warriors in the sprint events which have fallen off in recent years. Warrenton was set to open its season on Thursday at Wright City, but that event was cancelled. The Warriors will host a warm-up event on Tuesday at 4 p.m.
