NV girls loaded with talent going into 2022 campaign

The fact that he has several athletes who can score points in a variety of ways makes head coach Brett Welsch really excited for the upcoming Nodaway Valley girls’ track and field season.

The Wolverines already have three indoor meets in the books but transition to the outdoor portion of their season Thursday, weather permitting, at Clarke, Osceola.

There are 17 girls on the team’s roster this year, led by two seniors: Maddax DeVault and Erin Ford.

“We’ve got quite a bit of potential, so I’m pretty excited about that,” Welsch said.

Nodaway Valley brings nearly all of its state qualifying crew back from 2021. The only senior member of events that qualified for state a year ago was Jena Yonker, who is now running at Southwestern Community College.

DeVault, now a senior, was fifth at state in the 100-meter hurdles. The 4x200-meter team, made up of Abby Engles, Madison Fry, Annika Nelson and DeVault, finished as state runners-up, a little more than two seconds out of a state championship. The sprint medley relay had Yonker, Nelson, Emma Lundy and DeVault on it, and they placed fourth. Madison Fry, now a junior, was 17th as a sophomore in long jump, leaping 14 feet, 7 1/2 inches.

Welsch predicts his squad’s relays will be quite salty this year, although they will be dangerous in many aspects.

Distance runners like Ford and freshman Jazz Christensen will likely be difficult to match. Throwers Jorja Holliday and Bella Hogan have been working hard in the preseason. A promising freshman group that includes high-jumper Bailey Carstens, sprinter Alena Rectenbaugh, hurdler Olivia Laughery, Maddie Weston and others will also fill out several events.

“Those girls that return from last year, they’re going to be relied on heavily in everything we do,” Welsch said. “Where do I start [with such a balanced squad]? I just start at state and look to see what it will take to qualify for state, then I look to see what it will take to score at state. I know we have enough talent we can score in several events, whether it’s going to be the sprint medley, the 4x100, the 4x200. The 4x400, I think we have a really strong 4x400, which was evidenced in Ames.”

Welsch said the main ingredients for success are to build the team around strong 200 and 400-meter runners, which he has plenty of, and to work hard everyday.

“Track’s not easy. Especially what we do at Nodaway Valley, it’s pretty intense,” Welsch said. “We’ve got several really good runners who I really am not sure yet which way we’re going. Right now it’s pretty fluid.”