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The 2017 track & field season in Wellsboro is finally getting started.

Head Coach: Elizabeth Hoover (3rd year, 24-16)
2016 Boys Season Record: 0-10
2016 Girls Season Record: 8-2
Key Returners: Brody Coolidge, Brandon Lamphier, Dupree Hosey, Aidan Perry, Casey Hoover, Anna Bleggi, Kaitlyne Kramer, Dahlia Hosey, Cheyenne Sherman
Players to Watch: Dupree Hosey, Anna Bleggi

After a month of practice due to weather, which has already postponed a meet, the Hornets are finally ready for their first meet of the 2017 season. Weather has also limited how the team has been able to practice. Without a track for the second straight year, the Hornets have had to improvise on how they prepare for meets.

With only 12 senior team members between the two teams, 2017 could be a rebuilding year. Many of 2016’s point scorers graduated last year, so there will be plenty of opportunities for new faces to step up and score points.

On the boys’ team, the Hornets will lean heavily on Brody Coolidge, Brandon Lamphier, Dupree Hosey, Casey Hoover, and Aidan Perry. Coolidge had a very good year throwing the javelin in 2016 and was the third fastest 200m runner on the team. Lamphier missed all of 2016 while recovering from knee surgery, but the senior should step back into his old form from the 2015 season, where he did a variety of events.

Hoover led Wellsboro’s throwers last season in both the shot put and discus, and also in the 110m hurdles. Look for Hoover to continue leading Wellsboro in those areas this year. Perry, a sophomore, was one of the Hornets’ top middle distance runners last season as a freshman. With a solid year in cross country, which included a trip to the PIAA Championships, look for Perry to drop his times in the 800m, 1600m, and 3200m runs from last year.

Last year’s surprise was Dupree Hosey. Hosey had a career day at last season’s Coudersport Invite, then continued that success with first place finishes in the long, triple, and high jump against Northern Tioga and North Penn to top 5 finishes in the NTL Championships in all of those events… all in his first year of track. Hosey, a natural speedster, had a great 2016 football season at running back, and with a year of experience on his side, 2017 should be a very good year for the senior.

Just like the boys, the girls’ team is very young. The Lady Hornets return only eight of their top point scorers from last season. Wellsboro will look to Anna Bleggi, Kaitlyne Kramer, Dahlia Hosey, Cheyenne Sherman, Hannah Lawton, and Samantha Spurgeon to score points.

Bleggi had a very good freshman season in 2015, but struggled in 2016. After having a great cross country season this past fall, where she only finished outside the top-5 three times, look for Bleggi to have great runs in the 800m, 1600m, and 3200m runs.

Kramer is Wellsboro’s only returning pole vaulter from last year’s team. After a bunch of solid finishes where she scored 14.5 points, the junior will look to win meets this year.

Dahlia Hosey had a great freshman season in 2016 which included qualifying for Districts. Now as a sophomore, Dahlia is one of the fastest girls on the team, and will lead the Lady Hornets in the sprinting events. She can also jump, and just missed clearing five-feet in the high jump as a freshman. Combine her speed and jumping ability with Cheyenne Sherman, who had the second-best time, along with Zoe Iseri, Wellsboro should be able to compete with anyone in the NTL in those events. Sherman had a good 2016 season, running 14.62 in the 100m, 31.9 in the 200m, and jumping 13+ feet in the long jump. With Jada Jackson and Lindsey Graver graduating, Sherman will be the Lady Hornets’ top jumper.

With more numbers this season, both Wellsboro teams should hold their own against the best of the NTL and District IV. Plus, being a young team will pay dividends down the road for Wellsboro, as many of this year’s freshman and sophomores will benefit from competing against the best the NTL and District IV has to offer.

Wellsboro starts their season this afternoon at Towanda, and will be at the Molly Dry Invitational at Mansfield University on Thursday, April 13.