Lady Vikings preparing for new track season

Coming off a season in which the AHSTW Lady Vikings track and field team had some high finishes, including 2nd place at the Riverside Track Meet, 4th at the Griswold Tiger Relays, 6th at the AHSTW Co-Ed Meet, and 8th place at the WIC HS Track Championships and Southwest Valley May Co-Ed Meet, they are ready to get back to work.
“We’re very excited for the beginning of the season,” said Viking Head Coach Traye Pelzer. “Girls are motivated and working hard. I think we are anxious for the competitions to begin.”
The Vikings return this season with a majority of the girls coming back, despite losing Kaleah Guyer and Hannah Nielson. However, Pelzer is looking to the current seniors to lead the way for the underclassmen.
“Each one of the seniors that I have this year will be important leaders for us,” he said. Delaney Goshorn and Rylie Knop are returning members of our state qualifying 4X800. Graycen Partlow and Makenzie Pauley are veteran hurdlers for the team. Each one of them will be key for our success in competition and more importantly, practice.”
During the Vikings 2023 campaign, Partlow led in the 100m dash with a time of 13.93 and led in 100 and 400m hurdles with times of 17.45 and 1:12.65. Goshorn led the 200 and 400m dash with times of 28.60 and 1:06.88, and Knop led the 1500m run with a time of 6:13.45.
Partlow also helped lead the 4x100 relay team with a time of 55.53. Goshorn helped lead multiple relays including the 4x200, 4x400, and 4x800 with times of 1:58.28, 4:30.30, and 10:18.11.
“We are luckily bringing back most of our runners from last year, and the incoming group of freshmen is a large one,” Pelzer added. “Excited to build off of the successes in hurdling and middle distance we had last year.”
The first competition of this season will take place March 28, hosted by Audubon High School, where the Vikings will be one of 17 schools competing.
“The key to a successful start to the season will be attacking that first meet,” Pelzer said. “Getting some times in, and then start whittling them down.”
Pelzer is hoping with a majority of the girls back from last season and more experience that they can get faster.
“I would like to bring times down more consistently than we did last year,” he said. “I think I trained the girls for late season success, but missed opportunities for early season improvement.”