Track & field benefits from a growing squad of cross-trainers

It is the forgotten spring activity—the one many athletes use to stay in peak condition after their main season ends. But track & field requires Highland Park High School athletes to be more versatile than they’d ever imagine in another sport.

HPHS girls track head coach Keith Roig, in his eleventh season with the program, discussed how important it is to find well-rounded competitors in building a successful team.

“We really strive to get all of our kids in four different events,” Roig said. “That’s how many they can compete in during a meet and from past experience, I know most (kids who enter track) don’t know exactly what they’d be good at. Allowing kids to develop in both running events and the technical side can really help a coach balance a team and cover all bases.”

Last season, both the boys and girls sides finished slightly under .500 in their meet schedules. The girls graduated all-event star Alyssa Hudgins and the boys’ side was rebuilding after one of the Owls’ best runners ever, Bryant Fitzgerald, moved on to college.

With all of the events spreading teaching resources thin, the Owls have employed four coaches to help all team members specialize and learn on an individual basis. Roig works with jumping events and sprinters, and is joined by Chris Ruckdeschel, who also instructs the short-distance runners and the hurdlers. Derek Nobles focuses on the throwers (discus, shot put and javelin) and Eric Davis deals with distance events and pole vault.

“One of the big things this year, as a staff, we wanted to work more together,” Roig said. “Last year, we separated boys and girls in warm-ups and it was kind of like there were two teams. Now, we warm up together and then split up into technical groups before returning to our main events. The system is one of the best I’ve seen and it exposes kids to a lot of different events, various coaches and one giant team.”

After two meets against South River and Bishop Ahr, the boys are still trying to get things to click all at once, while the girls defeated the Rams in their only meet to date, 70-44 on Apr. 8.

“The girls’ team has the most depth that we’ve had in at least 10 years,” Roig said. “In terms of the boys, they have some kids who go out there and work really hard and they will definitely put it together soon. They just need more numbers and some more athletes out there to help them.”

As for the girls side, it is led by senior co-captains, Raessa Belnavis and Olivia Saad. Belnavis is a sprinter and jumper; Saad competes in those events and also runs distance.

“What’s unique about these two is that they’ve watched our team transform from when we had five or six people and struggled, to now over 25 kids and balanced in all areas,” Roig said. “They’ve seen the program grow and they’re a big part of it because of their work ethic and character. Both of them keep posting personal bests too.”

Additionally, Roig has benefited from some younger talent in freshman Dierra Doyle and sophomore SaNia Holloway.

“Dierra is one of the fastest, strongest freshmen I have ever seen,” he said. “And SaNia, she’s a discus thrower and sprinter. Some people who don’t know track might think that’s a weird combo but to be a good thrower, you have to be fast too.”

The boys’ side also brings some depth to the table, with junior distance runner Zach Chen providing leadership and junior Dan Brown providing versatility at jumping events, sprinting and pole vault. Senior Mike McClain, who played wide receiver this fall for HPHS football, has excelled in high jump, long jump, triple jump and all sprints.

It also doesn’t hurt to have Nate Smith, one of the most complete athletes the school has ever seen, on your team. While a good high school long jump would come in at around 17 to 18 feet, Smith posted a mark of 20 feet at the Greater Middlesex Conference tournament.

“Nate has some unparalleled athleticism,” Roig said. “We’ve worked with him a bit on his footwork but with his talents, he is fun to watch.”

As county tournament results rolled in, Roig was thrilled to see the girls 4 X 100 relay team run a 53-second time—good enough for fifth in the county. He believes that can only be a steppingstone for the entire program, and momentum going into other postseason events.

“We’re starting to do what we wanted to do,” Roig said. “Placing at the GMCs for a small Group 1 school is extremely tough to do. Our goals are to keep getting personal bests and I’d like to see us have a good showing at the state tournament.”