Published: April 10, 2008 09:31 am         

Milford track teams third in first meet

By ERIC AHLQVIST
Cooperstown Crier

MILFORD — The Milford boys and girls track teams kicked off the season Monday at home with third place finishes in a tri-meet.

The Lady Wildcats will rely on some experienced seniors this season, including household names like Maria Arnot and Brenna Campbell, both stars of the Milford soccer team for four seasons.

Arnot is a top sprinter and also was a member of last year’s Tri-Valley Champion 4x100 relay team. Natasha Roseboom and sophomore Chandler Prouty also return from that team, and Dave Prouty said he is looking for the fourth member.

``We’ve got quite a good nucleus returning,’’ Prouty said.

Campbell is a mid-distance runner and Roseboom also competes in the shot put. Prouty is a sprinter and will also compete in the discus. On Monday, she won that event with a throw of 69 feet.

``We also have some good, young talent that I’m excited about,’’ Dave Prouty added of his 16-member team.

Sophomore Eden Ward will move from middle distance to distance events this season, and newcomer Jane O’Bryan will run both middistance and longer distance events.

``She’s a swimmer, and we’re hoping that endurance translates to the track,’’ Prouty said of O’Bryan. Eighth-graders Avalon Ward (sprints, jumps) and Krista Krol (mid-distance) are ones to watch as well, Prouty said. Both Krol and Ward were members of the winning 400 and 1,600 relay events Monday.

``We’re still looking for people to fill the high jump and hurdles,’’ Prouty said.

``Everywhere else we seem to be pretty solid. Our success will depend on how fast our younger runners develop and how we fill those holes we currently have.’’

Boys look to rebuild The Milford boys track

team was hit hard by the loss of 16 players from last year’s team.

Prouty has 13 boys on the roster, including returning sophomore Mike Foy, who was a Tri-Valley champion in the 100 meter dash last season.

Senior Mike Krol returns in the high jump and relays, and fellow senior Sean Huffstickler returns in the high jump and distance events. ``Besides those three, we’re a completely new team,’’ Prouty said. ``We won’t have the depth we had last year.’’

Prouty said he’s relying on sophomore Josh Baker and junior Andy Jones to have good seasons this spring.

``Andy has the potential to do real well in the weight events,’’ he said.

The team is currently without Dan Baxter, a Tri- Valley and Section Four champion in both hurdle events last year and a holder of three school records, for disciplinary reasons. Prouty said Baxter’s future with the team is uncertain.

``We’re just going to work on improving and see where we are at the end of the year,’’ Prouty said.