With three state meet qualifiers returning and a solid crew of underclassmen coming up, the Litchfield girls track and field team expects to be a force to reckon with this season.
“I really feel like we can compete for a conference title if we can fill in a couple events and stay healthy,” said Tait Christensen, who’s entering his 25th season as Dragons head coach. “We want to compete each meet and work to get better each day. We feel like we have several girls who have an opportunity to advance to the state meet.”
That starts, of course, with the trio who made it to state last season, all of them seniors.
Jaelyn Baseman, who won the Section 6AA title in the shot put, took third in the event at state.
Raina Kaping also won a section title last season, flying above the field to claim first in the pole vault with a personal-best vault of 10-4. She finished 10th at state. Lillia Chvatal was the Dragons’ other state qualifier last season, taking eighth in the long jump at state after finishing second in the section.
Along with their leadership, Christensen said, he looks to seniors Greta Hansen, Tynisa Lara and McKayla Kruger, along with juniors Kimberlyn Case, Shelby Dengerud, Grace Schmidt, Eva Sohl and Abby Woelfel to provide points and leadership this season.
Sophomore Sam Turck, freshmen Eden Harless, Lydia Schultz and Chloe Kowalczyk, eighth-grader Josie Bjorkman, and seventh-graders Josie Turck and “Elsa Helstrom lend a great deal” of depth to the Litchfield lineup.
The Dragons got off to a good start last week, earning a second-place finish at a seven-team meet at New London-Spicer. (More on Page 12.)
Boys throwing talent around
Litchfield’s boys have a couple of state qualifiers returning from last year, along with several other top competitors, giving coach Shane Satterlee confidence heading into a new season.
“We will have a chance to win the conference and section this year,” said Satterlee, who’s in his 17th season as head coach. “We will score a lot of points in many events, so I feel our chances of winning the conference are very high.
“Overall, the boys should have a great team this year but most important the Dragons boys team has a lot of very respectful, athletic, and hardworking young men. I feel they will represent the town of Litchfield very well.”
T.J. Christensen placed seventh in the shot put and sixth in discus at state last season as a sophomore. He leads what must be considered to be one of the top throwing squads in the region if not the state, including brothers Jacob Dietel, a junior, and Noah Dietel, a freshman.
Litchfield’s other state meet competition last season was Blake Aller, who placed eighth in the 200-meter dash as a sophomore.
Other top returning competitors include junior sprinter Lukas Kuehl, junior high jumper Eli Lofton, and sophomore Nick Nelson, who competes in the jumping events.
Additional talent includes junior Garrison Jackman, who moves over from the tennis team to compete in sprints and hurdles, senior sprinter Chase Housman, junior sprinter Ayden Cziok, sophomore jumper-sprinter Durant Lara and freshman distance runner August Swenson.
“With returners Lukas Kuehl and Nick Nelson, we will also be able to put some good relay teams together,” Satterlee said. “With some new guys coming out for track, we will score even more points in sprints and relays.”
