By Cort Reynolds
ADA - The Ada track and field team features 37 athletes on its roster under eighth-year head coach Tyler Craig.
A total of 19 boys and 18 girls comprise the squad, with just two seniors, both girls. Twelve juniors - six boys and six girls - aling with eight sophomores and 15 freshmen round out the roster.
"We are very excited to have a season," said coach Craig. "We have pretty decent roster numbers."
"We are very fortunate to have a really good group of kids who work hard and don't complain," Craig noted. "They are good workers."
A deep class of juniors will help the boys squad compete well.
Veteran cross country runner Riley Ferguson will race in the middle and long distance events. "He is a hard worker," said Craig.
Powerful junior Carter Nelson will compete in the throwing events. "Carter has a chance to make it somewhere in the throwing events," said the coach.
Versatile Seth Swaney will run sprints, middle distance and do the pole vault.
Isaac Williams is expected to be a team leader in the high jump and long jump events.
Sophomore Antonio Pettit will run the hurdles, while classmate Robby Waters will put his cross country experience to good use running middle and long distance races.
"Antonio is is pretty fast, he can hurdle," said Craig.
Soph Chase Caldwell will also run middle and long distance, with classmate Alex Dearth performing in the throwing events.
Strong freshman class
Craig feels a strong freshman class will help the boys compete. Wyatt Green (sprints, long jump), Julian Grose (sprints, middle distance, long jump), Jackson Brown (hurdles, discus), Owen Arnett (sprints, relays) and Rheimond Santos (sprints) pace the newcomers.
The Bulldog boys squad hopes to be competitive in the league and big meets this spring.
The purple and gold boys finished eighth out of nine teams in the 2019 Northwest Conference meet with 30 points. The Bulldogs finished ahead of Delphos Jefferson.
Columbus Grove won the 2019 boys team title with 138.5 points, followed by Bluffton (106.5) and Lincolnview (105). Grove has won seven of the last eight boys NWC championships.
"Columbus Grove is the favorite again until someone beats them," Craig said. "As always we feel we can compete to make the top half of the NWC."
Girls 4 x 400 relay
Craig feels the girls 4 x 400 relay team has a good chance to qualify for regionals. "I am really excited about what that group can do," he said.
Senior Brenna Hissong, junior Olivia Green and sophomore Courtney Sumner are expected to comprise three-fourths of the quartet, with probable help from freshman Olivia Burkhart.
"We are excited about the potential of the girls 4 x 400, they could get to regionals," said Craig. "We want to get as many people as far as they can go in the post-season."
"Brenna Hissong has placed in the NWC in the 400 meters, which is probably her best event," said Craig.
Hissong returns as one of the most versatile Ada girls thinclads. She excels in the long jump, 400, sprint and middle distance events, as well as relays.
She just missed making it to regionals in the 400 meters at districts in 2019, finishing fifth.
Senior Kesea Akyeampong returns as a strong thrower.
Speedy junior Green is a top hurdler, and will also perform the high jump.
The versatile Sumner will compete in the long jump, middle distance, sprint and relay events. "She will do a lot for the team," said Craig. "Courtney is very fast in the 200 and 400, along with Hissong. She also is very good in the long jump."
Junior Lauren Mullins will participate in the pole vault, middle distance and long distance events. Classmate Tessa Long is expected to perform the throwing events.
Madison Park, Luci Wall and Gabby Wysocki complete the junior class.
Quick freshman Burkhart will contribute in the sprints, middle distance, long jump and relay events.
Other freshmen expected to contribute are cross country runner Jillian Hazelton (middle and long distance), Kiyah Hefner (shot put), Ella Marshall (sprints, middle distance) and Josie Phillips (sprints).
"I am excited about the newcomers, they work hard," said Craig.
The Ada girls ended up seventh in the nine-team conference meet in 2019. Grove repeated as NWC girls champions with a whopping 211 points, far ahead of second-place Spencerville (143) and Lincolnview (79.5).
The Lady Bulldogs scored 39.5 points to finish ahead of Crestview and Delphos Jefferson in the 2019 league meet.
"Grove is the favorite in the NWC again until someone knocks them off," Craig offered. "Our girls want to finish in the upper half of the NWC."
Ada Invitational returns
The Bulldogs are slated to host the long-running Ada Invitational meet again after a one-year Covid hiatus on Saturday, May 8.
The NWC championship meet is scheduled for May 13/15 at Columbus Grove. Perennial power Grove has captured the last six girls NWC titles. Spencerville copped the girls league team crown in 2013, the last time someone other than CG won it.
"We have a lot of athleticism," Craig summed up. "The wild card is that there was no 2020 season. But we have some people who might surprise this spring. This group is extraordinarily hard-working."
Ada is slated to open its 2021 track campain March 30 at USV.
