By Andrew Cato, ShowMe Times Sports Editor

The DHS track team is quite the unknown heading into the 2012 season. A lot of youth, coupled with inflated numbers over past seasons, leaves many questions about Coach Jill King's squad.

"It's been tough. They're so young that it's hard to figure out where you're going to put all of them. The girls, a lot are back and we have some freshman," King said. "The guys, a lot of them are young. I think we'll be better in middle-distance races than in sprints, and we'll be better in some other areas than we have in the past, so we'll see what happens. This is the most guys we have had in a long time - I think we had 28 come out this year, opposed to eight last year."

The girls squad lost some major talent in the jumps last season, but retained their state-qualifying 4x100 meter relay team. King expects to look to her senior girls for their ability to score points and leadership this year.

"Of my senior girls, I have three back, and they've all scored a lot of points for us in the past - it'll be a mixture of who is ready to step up and who keeps up what they've been doing," she said. "My girls 4x100 meter relay team that went to state last year is back - Taylor Martin, Lindsey Hindman, Brooke Baker, and Samantha Midgett."

"Taylor [Martin] will solid in sprints again, and I also have her high-jumping this season. I lost Madison Pixley and Raezheem Miller last year, and they were both excellent jumpers" King continued. "Christina Harris, a sophomore, is trying out triple jump, and if she works at it she could be amazing at that."

King noted that her throwers are looking better than they have in several years, despite having several freshman and inexperienced upperclassmen in the lineup.

"I think in the throws, we'll be more competitive this year than we have in the past. Jessica Lindsey is a powerhouse; Mollie Whitehead is outstanding in discus, and Sarah Langley, Destiny Robinson and Shana Bess are all looking great," King said. "Daniel [McCoy] and Dylan [Sandlin] both graduated last year. Andrew Collier was a solid thrower last year in middle school. Zach Lacy and Dylan Heflin are throwing this year - they don't have any meets for me to compare to anything, so I'm anxious to see how they do."

Lindsey, Robinson, Bess and Collier are all freshman; Whitehead is returning to the pit after spending her freshman year with the softball team.

"If those freshman stick with it, they can be competitive in the next three years," King noted.

The boys team's youth was a key concern for King, as well as losing junior Austin Richardson for the early part of the season. Richardson had an outstanding year in the high jump and triple jump last season.

"The guys are just so young; we don't have any outstanding sprinters that I know of, unless someone 'comes out of their shell' and shows they can do it," she said. "We have guys that want to try hurdles, and guys that want to jump and throw. Most of our guys are 400 and 800 meter runners, so we have a gap in the 100 and 200."

"I lost Austin Richardson, a great jumper, after he had knee surgery. He'll be back later this season, so we'll see how he does after he comes back."

The Bearcats have just one home meet this season, held on April 17, and are set to open the 2012 season on Tuesday (March 20), when they head to Cape Girardeau for the Cape Central Open. The meet is scheduled for a 4:00 p.m. start.

Click here to download the 2012 Track schedule.

Photos Above:
Top: Samantha Midgett works on the hurdles under the watchful eye of coach Greg Lummukka.
Middle: Taylor Martin works on her new event for 2012, the high jump.
Bottom: Senior Zach Lacy, in his first year as a member of the track team, works on his form in the shot put during Tuesday's practice.