The 2002 Hills-Beaver Creek-Ellsworth track teams will be led by nine seniors this spring. Front row, left to right, are Bev Wurpts, Miranda Anderson and LaDonna Sandstede. Back row: Ryan Ranschau, Brad Haak, Kyle Braun and Lee Walraven. Missing are Paul Jess and Randy Krull.
By John Rittenhouse
An increase in the participation rate has turned the Hills-Beaver Creek-Ellsworth boys' track team into a squad to keep an eye on this year.
With a 44-athlete roster that includes 26 team members in the upper four grades, it appears the Patriots will likely thrive in a sport that relishes numbers.
"I really like our numbers," said H-BC-E coach Tom Goehle. "It really makes coaching fun. We've got a good mix of youth and experience, and these kids really know how to compete and have fun at the same time. With that combination, you're going to be successful."
While Goehle feels he will get some help from the 18 seventh- and eighth-graders as the season goes along, he's looking for big things from the 26 boys who represent the top four classes in the program.
There are seven seniors, four juniors, six sophomores and nine freshmen attending the team's pre-season practice sessions, and the group is highlighted by one defending state champion, one state qualifier and three other section qualifiers from 2001.
The Patriots do have a lot of returning talent this spring, but the team will be influenced by two top-notch performers they lost to graduation last season.
Chris Willers and Chris Fransman, who now are competing in track at difference colleges, scored a lot of points for H-BC-E last season.
Willers, an outstanding 400- and 800-meter runner, won Sub-Section 10 and Section 3A championships in the 400. He went on to earn all-state status in that event by finishing eighth at the state meet in Blaine last June.
Willers also was a member of H-BC-E's 800- and 3,200-meter relays that finished third at the section meet last season.
Fransman, who helped H-BC's 400- and 800-meter relay teams reach and place at the section meet, was one of the area's top high jumpers the past two years. He won the sub-section title in that event before earning a trip to state by placing second at the section meet. Fransman went on to place ninth in Blaine.
As good as Willers and Fransman were, two more Patriots may have turned in more impressive seasons last year.
Senior Brad Haak and junior Chris Reid, a pair of all-state performers, will form the nucleus of the 2002 team.
Haak makes such an impact on the program that his coach gives him credit for boosting the participation rate in the program.
A three-time participant in the state meet, Haak is the defending Class A champion in the 800-meter run. He also ran with H-BC-E's 800-, 1,600- and 3,200-meter relay teams last season and qualified for the section meet in the high jump.
"Brad is the catalyst for our boysÕ program," Goehle said. "Some kids have seen what he has done the past couple of years, and I think that has played a part in our numbers increasing. He has some definite goals that include getting back to state and lowering his 800 time. He also wants to help get a relay team to state."
Reid is an athlete blessed with sprinterÕs speed who also is one of the areaÕs best jumpers.
A member of H-BC-E's 400- and 800-meter relays last season, Reid excelled individually in the 100-meter dash (placing second in the sub-section and section meets) and the long jump (placing third in the sub-section meet and winning a section championship).
Reid ended up placing seventh in the long jump at state, but he was unable to make the finals in the 100.
H-BC-E's talent pool also includes senior Lee Walraven, sophomore Lee Jackson and freshman Tyler Bush, a trio of athletes who advanced to last year's section meet.
Walraven, who runs anything between 100 and 800 meters, helped form the 400-, 800- and 1,600-meter relay teams last season. He also placed third individually in the 200-meter dash at the sub-section level.
Jackson, who is coming off a strong cross country campaign, will run races between 800 and 3,200 meters. He competed in the 1,600- and 3,200-meter relays during the post-season last spring.
Bush, the type of runner who can compete in events between the distances of 200 and 3,200 meters, will do some jumping as well.
Bush ran with H-BC-E's 3,200-meter relay team as an eighth-grader and placed third in the 3,200-meter run at the sub-section meet.