As February just begins, the Antioch High School boys’ track and field team is just beginning. Co-head coaches Brian Glashagel and Chris Bailey are collecting their thoughts and hopes for the 2025 season. With the loss of the 2024 seniors, both coaches are excited and eager to start the season to see what growing talent they have to work with.
“The cupboard is never bare,” Glas said. “We seem to plug in and replace better than a lot of people. So, despite the loss of our former seniors I think we are set on talent this season.”
The loss of graduated athletes does not seem to stress either of the coaches. When previous talent leaves, current talent is improving, and new talent comes in. The boys 2024 track season seemed to have a strong group of underclassmen and junior athletes; with the addition of incoming talent, it looks like the 2025 team is going to have a successful season.
“When you look at the sprinters, we got guys like senior Martin Cohen and junior Deven Pickett,” Bailey said. “For long distance, we have seniors AD and Griffin Freeman, and junior Carson Laners. We have a very well-rounded group of guys and we want to build off those returners with some new and fresh faces.”
Both coaches have a lot of confidence when it comes down to the strength and ability their team will have this 2025 season. Bailey and Glas also have some hopeful predictions for their athletes. Track is a sport where one can compete both as a team and individually at the same time. Depending on placement in events, one collects points as a team to win meets, while individually, the goal is to beat past times to get a personal record. This season, the coaches are striving for individuals to do well in conference and to win a possible conference championship. After that, it is the coaches’ goal to get as many runners to the state championship as they can. In order to accomplish these goals, the coaches have a set plan to prepare athletes. Glas specifies on how he plans to bring up his athletes leading up to the end of the season.
“I view indoor track as a preseason that would be equivalent to a summer camp, like I do for football,” said Glas. “The indoor season is like our June-July summer camp. We are gonna try some guys in new events and different spots; nobody should be afraid to try something new. We want our boys to get in shape and use the indoor season to get there. After that, we want them to lead up to a peak and especially peak in the performances in May when conference starts to come around. Then sectionals, then state.”
With a small excerpt into how the coaches plan to prepare their athletes, and the assurance from the coaches of the talent they will have this season; it is shown that the coaches have everything they need. Striving to succeed in conference and send individuals to state, the boys’ 2025 track and field season is going to take a lot of hard work and dedication. However, with the consistent talent and goals set by the coaches, it is easy to predict a triumphant upcoming season.
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