Season Preview: Varsity Girls Indoor Track

The Garden City girls program has been very successful over the past five years, not only winning county championships but also producing fantastic state and national results.

This year's team has the talent to continue making Garden City one of the top indoor programs on the track scene.

Coach Erica Fregosi will once again have a very talented and deep squad that will make headlines in a multitude of events, but they will shine brightest in the relays. With three national championships in the last two years, Fregosi has developed Garden City into a dominating relay team.

"If we stay healthy, we should have one of the best sprint medley relays in the country - and there’s no reason to believe we cannot repeat as champs," she said. Fregosi believes that the girls will be competing at the highest levels in not only the sprint medley relays but also the 4x400, 4x800 and the distance medley.

The sprint group will be led by sophomore Laura Jaeger, seniors Jenna DeAngelo, Alexis Yeboah-Kodie and Mary Kate Wallace and any number of newcomers to the team this year. This group will challenge the county in events ranging from the 55 meter dash up to the 400 meter race.

Wallace and Yeboah-Kodie will also look to push themselves to greater lengths in both the triple and long jump. Both have continued to improve year over year and will continue to push themselves for improved distances in both jumps. As assistant Tom Skrivanek said, "both jumpers have the ability so this can be a special year for either or both, we’ll see."

The heart of the team is in the middle distance group. Heading the group will be senior Taylor Hennig and freshman Emma Gallagher. They could possibly be the best one-two punch in the county and will look to prove that as they take on races in the 400 – 1000 meter range, as well as anchoring the relay teams.

Gallagher is on pace to be one of the county's best runners this season and will look to provide the coaches with some flexibility. Hennig has consistently hit the medal stand previously in the sprint events and will look to do the same at the middle distance races.

The team also showcases two of the best sister combinations that the county has seen in quite awhile, with Emily and Katie O’Neill and Stephanie and Jennifer Gerland. The O’Neills will be important contributors in the relays and running anywhere from the 800 to the 3000 while the Gerlands are primed to challenge for top spots in the distance races after coming off a very strong cross country season.

Also returning to the team and looking to claim a top spot is senior race walker Molly Josephs, who has been doing extensive training year round to be in top shape for the season.

With all of these returnees, the coaches are also looking at some new blood to hit the medal stand throughout the year. Runners like Kelly Punturo, Jackie O'Hare, Kelly Lawkins, Katherine McGannon and Kaitlin Shea have run before and will look to step up to the next level this season. Also, newcomers like Haley O’Hanlon and MacKenzie Bolstrom look to add to the depth of the squad.

With a cadre of runners like Garden City has, Fregosi has some lofty goals, "conference and county championships, multiple state and national qualifiers, as well as the potential for All-American status." Lofty goals indeed, but with the accomplishments of this team in the past, perhaps very manageable ones at that.