New faces highlight 2013 track season

Under the direction of second year Head Coach Keith Brown, the Marion County High School track team is looking forward to welcoming some new faces to the squad.
“Seniors Satchel Tatum, Morgan Avritt and Madison Avritt along with junior Samaad Bouie have joined the team and looked impressive in the early workouts,” Brown said.  
Several key returnees from last year’s team will also boost the team’s results.  Senior Brooks Divine is back to defend his state title in pole vault and hopefully improve his 110- and 300-meter hurdles results from last year, according to Brown. Brown noted that the coaching staff is still looking for a fourth event to place Divine in.
“We are still trying to figure out his fourth event since he can do about anything,” Brown said. “I don’t know if it will be an individual or a relay.”
Junior Justin Dawson is back and looking to qualify for state. Last season, Dawson missed the cut by a hundredth of a second to qualify for state.
“He is a kid who works hard at everything we ask him to do,” Brown said.  
Rico Floyd is back on the track after having some nagging injuries from football season, according to Brown.
“He wants to try every event, so we need to find what he will be most consistent with,” he said. “Satchel and Samaad just competed in their first meet and came away with pretty good results. Satchel ran a 2:20 800-meter time and Samaad ran a 58 second 400 meters. Those are pretty good times this early considering the amount of time we have had.”  
Brown noted that the remainder of the boys team is a mixture of youth and some experience that will be counted on to step up their performance this year.
On the girls side, Morgan and Madison Avritt return to the track team after playing softball last year. They will be joined by senior Mary Helen Hamilton, sophomores Hope Riggs and Alexis Mackie, freshmen Meredith Bartley, Chelsie Wright, Shampaigne Brown, Rae Mills and eighth grader Shy Camp.
“As soon as basketball is over we are looking to add a few more,” Brown said.
Brown commented on the goals for this year’s team.
“The goal is being more competitive overall and getting a few more athletes to Louisville in mid-May,” Brown said.
Brown will be joined this season by Jim O’Hare, Jeff Robbins and Daniel Johnson.  
“I have a great group of coaches whose experience will be invaluable to this young bunch,” Brown said. “We will try everyone in a wide variety of events early on and hopefully settle in on who goes where by the middle of April. We feel like what we lack in quantity, we make up for in quality.”
The track teams competed in their first meet of the season at Nelson County last night. Results of that meet were unavailable as of press time. The team’s next meet will be on March 21 when they travel to Green County.
 

Jessica Veatch

Junior Justin Dawson worked on his starting technique during a recent track practice.

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