The Cassville boys track and field team returns a wealth of experience and hopes to have an impact at meets across all events.

Clay Weldy, Cassville boys track coach, said the goals this season are simple.

“We want to get better throughout the year and to be our best late In the season when conference, districts, sectionals, and state come around,” he said. “It’s pretty early in the season to tell exactly [where we are most proficient], but we do bring back experience all over the track. I’m not sure one group will stand out or not from the others. I’m hoping we are solid across the board in all areas of sprints, distance, jumps and throws.”

Eleven letterwinners from 2024 return for the Wildcats, including Bradyn Alley, Kyle Bailey, Kamden Beebe, Nic Fierro, Trever Garnett, Jacob Hudson, Jesse James, Ricky Norris, Corbin Rhoads, Zayne Uzlik and Jacob Walker.

Previous track and field participants hoping to make a greater impact this year are Carson Cash, Wesley Garner, Chayton Issler, Michael Phillips and Tyler Rattigan; and newcomers to the team include Cohen Adams, Peyton Anderson, Jameson Barnes, Brylar Beranek, Zebulan Blankenship, Mace Bredeson, Noah Driskill, Preston Driskill, Cyrus Ganoung, Wyatt Hollingsworth, Brody Howell, Logan Parsons, Jarrett Paul, Marvin Polanco and Brextin Sprague.

“Our senior leaders are Kyle Bailey, Nic Fierro, Chayton Issler and Jacob Walker,” Weldy said. “We expect them to not only lead by example but also vocally. Kyle, Jacob and Nic bring back a lot of experience, and they have already been leading in practice.

Kyle is our most vocal leader and has already done a good job in that role and I hope that continues throughout the season.”

While the Wildcats are already fairly well-rounded, Weldy said there’s always room for improvement — everywhere.

“The goal is to always improve throughout the season and to be doing your best in May when we have conference and the state series,” he said. “We go to a variety of meets throughout the season. We see schools all sizes at every meet, so we will see great competition at most meets.”

The Wildcats will also host a meet, the Cassville Relays, on April 22, the only home meet of the season.

“We have a hard-working group of kids that are competitive and want to get better,” Weldy said. “That is something you don’t always see this day and age, and something that I’m proud of them for. We are excited to get started and see our improvement throughout this season.”

Cassville begins its campaign on March 27 in McDonald County at the Mustang Stampede.