By Taylor Bergeson and Christian Witt

Trojan Tribune Staff

   The weather is warming up, school is winding down and you know what that means: spring sports are starting. Track and field is one of many spring sports that West Central students participate in. As many of you know, West Central track and field was very successful last spring. The girls team brought home a state title, and the boys finished second. The athletes also brought home a combined team title because of both the boys’ and girls’ success.

This year the team is ready to start competing. There have been a couple coaching staff changes for this season. Brian Voss has taken the boys head coach position; Becky Wahl has joined David Tuch in the distance coaching position and Janel Oltmanns joined as a new throwing coach. Joan Peters is still the girls head coach and coaches hurdlers, jumpers and sprinters. Todd Wolles still handles high jumpers, and Mike Ideker works with the sprinters and middle school runners.

Some of the West Central athletes went to the Dan Lennon Invitational on Monday, March 26. Both the girls and boys teams competed at the large indoor meet. Sophomore Summer Smith placed sixth in the 3200 meter run. Sienah Mulbah placed second in the open 60m dash. Senior Emily Mammenga placed third in the open 800m run. Allie Macdonald, Sienah Mulbah, Maty Skinner and Emily Mammenga placed third in the Sprint Medley. Maty Skinner, Allie Macdonald, Sienah Mulbah and Shelby Sieverding placed second in the 4x400m relay. Shelby Sieverding, Maty Skinner, Sienah Mulbah and Maria Lewis placed second in the 4x200m relay.

David Mulbah tied for first in the high jump but ended up in second by a coin flip.  Many of the guys ran very well against the competition at Dan Lennon. Come support the West Central Trojans at the Early Bird Invitational at home on Tuesday, April 3.

By Taylor Bergeson

Trojan Tribune Staff

As spring approaches, the West Central soccer team starts preparing for another season. The two-time state champion team likes to play spring soccer to develop team chemistry and prepare for the high school season. “We don’t really practice; we usually just play games. It helps us learn how to play with each other,” said senior midfielder Bree Albers.

Greg Anderson is the head coach of the team. During an interview with Soccer605 after the championship game, he said, “It’s going to be pretty tough to come back; I lose five seniors and that is a great group of girls. They all have big roles in our team and when they have such a big impact, it’s tough. This year we had to replace almost all of our defensive line–three out of the four that we play in the defensive backfield were new to the positions. This year we will do some juggling around and hopefully we can have the same result next year. The girls work really hard, and they are a great group of girls.”

Spring soccer is important to the team because it is the last time that they will play with their seniors before they head off to college. It is also when they start experimenting with new players to fill those graduating seniors’ positions. It takes a lot of planning and practicing to fill positions with new athletes. The players have to learn how to play as a team without their former senior leaders. Many of the athletes get shuffled around during this season to find out what works and what doesn’t. Soccer is a sport where you can have one athlete move from position to position and still be successful. Throughout the duration of the game, many players play more than one position.

The team is hoping to bring home another state title next year during the high school season. Hopefully a successful spring season will start preparing them for their more challenging fall season ahead.

Hi! My name is Taylor Bergeson. I am a sophomore taking news media. I play soccer, basketball, and I also run track. I like hanging out with friends, and I’m involved with Student Council and the mentoring program.  My favorite summer hobbies include riding and showing horses and rodeoing. One thing I want to accomplish this year is to win state soccer again.