THE STARTING LINE

Kokomo's boys track and field team enjoyed a solid 2015 season. The Wildkats won the Kokomo Sectional and sent three individuals to the State Finals. They also had runner-up finishes in the Kokomo Relays and the North Central Conference meet.

The Kats will need to reload following the graduation losses of their state qualifiers. Pole vaulter Avery Barrett and long jumper Jordan Nix graduated and sprinter Hanif Burnett moved to Georgia at the start of the semester. Nix also excelled in hurdles.

"We have several key individuals who we can build our team around, but several freshmen and first-year athletes will have to contribute for this to be a championship season," Kokomo coach Tom Byrnes said.

The Kats' top returning athlete is junior Andrecus Eddington, who was a dominant force in the sectional last year. Individually, he won the 100-meter dash (:11.21) and 200 dash (:23.18). He also contributed to the winning 4x100 and 4x400 relay teams.

"He is one of the best sprinters in the area," Byrnes said. "He is the defending NCC champion in the 400 meters and just missed making it to the state meet last year in the 100 meters."

The Kats' other returning sprinters are senior Rolando Tyler, who was second in the 110 hurdles in the sectional, and sophomores Aion Jones, Joseph Nieto and Tyler Shelly. Byrnes has a group of 10 first-year sprinters.

Senior Ethan Sharp leads the distance runners. In the sectional, Sharp was second in the 800, third in the 1,600 and sixth in the 3,200.

"One of the strongest areas for this year's team will be the distance crew," Byrnes said, noting the returning runners and also a group of newcomers.

The distance group also includes senior Colten Pearce, junior Austin "Coy" Brandon and sophomore Justin Taflinger. In the sectional, they ran on the 4x800 relay team, which took second.

The field events offer a new look following the losses of state qualifiers Barrett and Nix — but the cupboard is far from bare.

Pearce and Eddington are veteran long and high jumpers and Tyler returns to pole vault. Sophomore Joseph Nieto also has experience in pole vault. In the throws, seniors Cameron Fitts and Zharquan White lead the squad and seniors Jai Malone and Israel Nieto and sophomores Gavin Bitner and Nathan Pine also are back from last year. The newcomers include senior Kendale Harris, who is showing potential in practice.

Kokomo opened with a home meet against Anderson on March 29. The Indians topped the Kats 78-54.

Next up for the Kats is a home meet against Peru on Thursday followed by the Marion Relays on Saturday.

The following are looks at the other Howard County teams.

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WESTERN

The Panthers won the 2014 sectional and followed with a runner-up finish last year.

"Last year, we had a really young team. We only had five seniors," Western coach Gary Jewell said. "This year, we only have one more senior. You usually look for seniors to score a lot of points. When you only have five or six on your team, you need younger guys to score a lot of points."

The Panthers return two of their best athletes — senior Cameron Dessing and junior Josh Everetts.

"Cameron was a state finalist last year in the 300 hurdles and he also was on our school-record 4x100 relay," Jewell said. "He has shown a lot of versatility in his career. He started out as a short sprint guy, then he moved into the 300 hurdles. He can basically run anything from the 100 all the way up to the 400."

Everetts was the sectional champion in the 1,600 and 3,200 runs. He clocked 4:36.88 in the 1,600 and 10:28.54 in the 3,200.

"Josh was our leading scorer last year," Jewell said.

Dessing leads a deep sprint corps. The Panthers also return juniors Mica Beard and Michael Duke and sophomores Nick Hackler, Jordan Hicks and Alex Newman. Newcomers include senior Reggie Manuel and junior Quaylen Calvin. Beard was part of the Panthers' school-record 4x100 relay team last year.

"We went out and recruited some kids," Jewell said. "We picked up a couple who I think will help us out. I think we're deeper in the sprints than we've been in recent memory. That depth is providing us with flexibility that we haven't had previously. We have nine or 10 different guys that we can run at the varsity level in the sprints."

Everetts is joined in the distance corps by senior Josh Scott and sophomores Alex Taylor, Andrew Granfield, Tyler Lechner and Nate Nicholson.

In the field events, Hicks is penciled in for high and long jumps, sophomore Zhe'Don Beard is a high jumper and Calvin and sophomore Jeffery McClung are long jumpers. Pole vaulters include Newman, junior Zach Zentz and sophomore Tyler Gilbert. The throwers include Newman, Gilbert, senior Josh Hozey and sophomore Ricky Bearden.

Western is new to the Hoosier Conference this year following the Mid-Indiana Conference's breakup. Jewell noted West Lafayette is the long-time power in the Hoosier, but he is eager to see how his team stacks up in the new conference.

"I think at a minimum, we should be shooting for second place," he said.

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NORTHWESTERN

Just two seniors anchor the Tigers squad, presenting coach Dave Stevens with a different dilemma from past seasons.

"This is my 10th year and it's the most new faces I've ever had," Stevens said. "We've got a lot of guys who haven't done track before and filling the roster is going to be a challenge at times. I'm really impressed with how the young guys want to work."

With only 29 out and several of those being young, Stevens will rely heavily on his returning experience, which lies heavily in the hands of senior duo Owen Munson and Cameron Curry.

Munson set the school record in the 400 dash a year ago at :50.0. He ran to a first-place Kokomo Sectional finish in the 400 (:51.06) while logging a second-place finish in the 200 (:23.95) in advancing to the regional.

"He barely missed going to state for us," Stevens said. "He can run anything from the 100 to the 800. He's quite versatile."

Curry will look to earn points in a variety of ways.

"He's been throwing discus and will step back into that as well as throwing the shot," Stevens said. "He'll be our No. 1 high hurdler and our No. 1 or 2 in low hurdles as well. He may even help in a relay here and there."

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