Young Tiger talent will get chance to shine at own Central Relays

For better or worse, the Central track and field teams will go as far as their talented but young athletes will take them this season.

Following a year in which the Tigers boys and girls teams qualified for the state track meet in 13 events, and achieved all-state status in four events, they have had a successful start this season while relying heavily on underclassmen.

The Tigers' young group will be on display Saturday when the annual Central Relays meet begins at the Abe Stuber Track Complex beginning at 9:45 a.m.

At the head of Central's young, talented bunch are sophomores Nicole Jackson and Allen Walker. Jackson finished seventh in the 200 and qualified for the state meet in the 100 as a freshman, while Walker was a state qualifier in the 100.

"We have much more depth with that youth," Central coach Lawrence Brookins said.

Central is running all-sophomore 400 and 800 relay teams on the boys side, with Walker, Anwar Glenn, Hykeem Hammonds and Tyler Terry showing promise after just a couple of meets together. Terry also competes in the triple jump and long jump, boasting the area's best mark in the former. Freshman Nadia Cox is already establishing herself on the girls side in the long jump by reaching 16 feet, 6 inches.

While the Tigers' underclassmen have stepped to the forefront in most events, the team has had trouble finding leadership among the team. Besides distance standouts Jennifer Pancoast and Holly Shaffer along with Meg Yates for the girls and first-year middle-distance runner Cory Huskey, there are few seniors who routinely score points for the Tigers.

Brookins said the team could become even better once it finds some leadership.

"Like any sport, it really helps if you have some base of veteran kids," Brookins said. "We've struggled this year finding leadership in the core."

The Tigers will be joined Saturday by area teams Jackson and Notre Dame with about nine teams competing in the Cape Relays. The event does not feature team scores and does not run the open 200-, 400- and 800-meter runs. Two events specific to the event include the distance medley relay and the sprint medley relay. The distance medley is made up of 400, 800, 1,200 and 1,600 legs. The sprint medley is two 100 legs, a 200 and a 400.

Notre Dame coach Bill Davis said the Cape Relays allows the athletes to compete in some fun events they do not see at other meets.

"You get to run the sprint medleys and distance medleys, the kids enjoy those," he said. "It's a change of pace."

The meet also awards an MVP award for both the track events and field events for both the boys and girls. Awards are also given to the top three individuals in each event. Team awards are also given for each field event, with the distances of team members combined to make a team distance.

"That's what makes it kind of unique, different," Brookins said.

Jackson is led on the girls side by its sprint relays, which qualified for the state meet last season, along with all-state pole vaulter Amy West. Jackson's boys are led by throwers Brad Crader, who was an all-state discus thrower last year, and Andy Glass, who has had several throws of more than 54 feet in the shot put this year.

For Notre Dame, hurdler Katie Daniel has picked up from where she left off last year when she qualified for the state meet in the 100 and 300 hurdles. The Bulldogs' distance runners on the boys side are once again a strength. The 1,600 and 3,200 relay teams have run among the area's best times in those events, and Matt Pfau is among the top two runners in the area in both the 1,600 and 3,200 open events.