Mifflin County has mixture of youth and veterans in 2022

BY BRIAN CARSON Sports correspondent

LEWISTOWN — Mifflin County indoor track and field coach Scott Gantz is eager to start the 2022-23 campaign thanks to a solid mix of veterans and youth.

The Huskies have a decent turnout of 44 kids hoping to prep for the outdoor season and earn a trip to indoor states at Penn State University.

“Turnout is good. We are pleased with the numbers we have. The last few years, our numbers have been down. The last I checked, we had 44 kids with a good mix of veterans and new kids,” Gantz said. “We also have a good group of younger kids, seventh and eighth graders, who wanted to jump on board and manage for us.

Indoor track schedule

@Penn State University

Jan. 7 @9:30 AM

Jan. 19 @6:30 PM

Feb. 1 @6:30 PM

Feb. 15 @6:30 PM

They will train with the older kids and get a taste of it, which should set them up when they get to ninth grade.”

Gantz doesn’t have all the events pinned down that his athletes may compete in, but he has a good idea where the strength of his team lies—distance and jumps. Throws and sprints need some more development.

“The way it looks, we will be strong in the jumps and distance. That’s how it’s been for us indoors the last few years,” Gantz said. “We’ve had some decent throwers, but because of graduation and kids not coming out this year, throws are something we hope to improve as the season progresses.”

Leadership and talent abound in the jumps and distance with top jumper and returning PIAA javelin champion Josiah Sechler and PIAA cross country qualifier Conrad (CJ) Coffey. Both are seniors. Depth and skill dot the lineup of jumpers and distance runners.

“In the jumps, our leaders will be Jayden King and Josiah Sechler for the boys and Bailey McNitt, Tai Ematat, and Micaela Christie for the girls,” Gantz said. “On the boys’ side, the leadership we are looking for in the distance events will come from Caden Bell, Cody Fultz, and Conrad (CJ) Coffey. The girls’ distance will feature Justice Sheaffer and some younger girls we are looking to see stepping up.”

Some of the key newcomers include ninth graders Amelia Coffey

(distance), Reese Cubbison (distance), Hart Oden (distance), and sophomore Dupree Reed (sprints).

“I’m glad to see some new kids out. We got Dupree Reed in the sprints on the boys’ side. The sprints are our untested area right now. We have quite a while until our first meet (January 7th). We are trying to pick something up in December,” Gantz said. “We like the overall attitude and work ethic. Due to Thanksgiving and such, we haven’t had much time to work with the kids. It’s one of those things where we like what we see so far.”

The goals for Gantz and the staff are to build a base and get the athletes ready for

Pictured is the Mifflin County girls indoor track team front row, from left, Dupree Reed, Sacajae Green, Reese Cubbison, Hart Oden, Justin Cox, Anthony Palopoli, Patrick Milligan, Cylrell Green, Carter Smith, Caden Bell.

Back row, Isaac Parks-Gill, Hunter Bailey, Jayden King, Maxwell Laudermilch, Logan Bodtorf, Conrad Coffey, Cody Fultz, Joshua Cruz, Josiah Sechler, Ty Small.

Track

Continued from Page 28 while bringing the newcomers up to speed.

“We want to maintain what the kids are bringing us from cross country and build a base for those who didn’t do anything over the fall,” Gantz said. “In actu-