It was cold and windy as the Stanley-Boyd Orioles track team kicked off its season at UWStout Friday March 25. With temperatures just above freezing plus high winds and mild flurries outside, however, competitors were warm and toasty, as the meet was held indoors. Coach Bob Seidl shared his thoughts of how the initial meet for spring 2022 went afterwards.

“Overall, both the boys and girls teams were close to their seed times and distances,” Seidl said. “Both the boys and girls teams are young and inexperienced. We got our feet wet yester- day. The younger athletes were just finding out what a large indoor track meet was all about. We haven’t been to an indoor meet in over three years, so I was pleased overall with how they met these new challenges,” he said.

Singled out for special mention in Friday’s meet by Seidl were Cooper Nichols, Zach Haas, and Teagen Becker. Nichols placed second in the 55-meter dash and fourth in the 400-meter dash, while Haas finished eighth in the 3200-meter run and Becker took fourth in the high jump.

Looking ahead for what's to come, the Ori oles take part in a Varsity invitational Friday April 1 again at Stout, with a meet at Wausau West scheduled for Tuesday April 5 from 4 p.m to 8 p.m. With another meet Tuesday, April 12 at Eleva-Strum High School beginning at 4:15 p.m., the opportunities to get out and see the team compete are many this spring season.

Cooper Nichols competes at UW-Stout Friday. Nichols placed second in the 55-meter dash and fourth in the 400-meter dash. Photo by Joseph Back.

Janelle Schesel plants the pole in the pole vault in preparation to jump at Stout last Friday.

Photo by Joseph Back.