Girls track looking at the ‘big picture’

Top seniors and juniors will return for Zionsville this season.

By Richie Hall/Times Sentinel

Familiar stars and new faces will lead the Zionsville girls track team this season.

A number of top-level athletes will return to the Eagles roster this year, including three of the four members of the state-qualifying 4 by 800-meter relay team: Senior Dayna Anderson, junior Caitlyn Engle and sophomore Amanda Regele. Anderson also qualified for state in the 800-meter run.

Zionsville will be led by a new coach this year. Elizabeth Sackers came to the Eagles after spending six years as the Noblesville Middle School track coach, and she was previously a coach at Westfield High School.

“It’s been great,” Sackers said. “I’ve been welcomed with open arms.”

Sackers still competes in races herself, as a sprinter. That allows her to keep up with the latest news and techniques related to sprinting.

“Technique is the foundation to perfecting any event,” Sackers said. “Just knowing the foundations.”

Sackers said there are around 60 athletes on this year’s Zionsville team. The above-mentioned state qualifiers will be joined by junior Katie Conrad, who had a strong cross country season this fall. Other cross country runners on the team will be senior Courtney Deist and sophomores Taylor Martin, Calesse Cardosi and Rebecca Woolf. Their classmate, Stefani Middleton, also ran track last year.

Sprinters returning to the team include senior Sarah Heneghan and junior Caroline Bostwick. Senior Katherine Meyers will return as a hurdler. Junior Abbey Walker is back as a high jumper, while her classmates, Leah Einterz and Jessica Fisher, will be shot putters.

Meanwhile, the freshmen will also likely make an impact.

“I have four freshmen running at the varsity level: Erin Goode, Hadley Stuart, Rachel Booze and Erica Williams,” Sackers said. They will run in various events during the course of the season.

The Zionsville girls placed in the top 10 in three events at the Hoosier State Relays finals, which took place Saturday, March 17 at Indiana University in Bloomington.

Conrad finished fourth in the 3200-meter run, finishing the event in 11 minutes, 20.20 seconds. Two relay teams also placed: The 4x800-meter relay team of Anderson, Engle, Middleton and Regele finished fifth (9:50.56), while the Distance Medley relay team of Martin, Deist, junior Kara Conflenti and Cardosi finished ninth (13:06.88).

The Eagles first outdoor meet takes place at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 20 at the Zionsville field, as the Eagles take on Tipton.

“The thing I love about home meet is, I’m going to get to see all 60 of my girls perform,” Sackers said. Her policy is to run every athlete at a home meet.

“I believe even if we were to have cuts in this sport, I would not cut a single girl because they all work so hard (and) running at what I would call varsity level.”

The Eagles have been participating in conditioning since November, and Sackers believes that will build a foundation for this season. She said she is looking at “the big picture” when it comes to the post-season.

“Everything that we do today is for tomorrow,” Sackers said. “And sure, you want to go one meet at a time, but the main goal right now is (the Hoosier Crossroads) conference (meet), sectionals and regionals, and then the big party which is state. I think it is good to look for that, and to have goals already for that.”

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