By Peyton Capellen Posted March 6, 2018
TRACK
Track season is starting off once again after a good performance at last year’s state tournament. The team is looking to make another big run this season for the state tournament and has several athletes returning from last year’s tournament to pave the way.
Head coach Grant Beatty has high hopes for his team this season.
“I think the season will be fun. We lost some great senior athletes last year, but we should have a competitive group of athletes that are coachable and will keep improving throughout the season,” said Beatty.
There are several athletes in general that Beatty has high expectations for this season.
“Specifically, we are expecting big things from Hailey Hinkle, who will hurdle, run, and jump, the Garrison girls: Rachel in the discus and shot put, and Shelby in the jumps and running events, sprinter Erick Lopez in the 100, 200, and he’ll be running the 400 this year as well,” said Beatty. “Distance runners Becca Kuskie and Will Kracaw look to carry over from strong cross country seasons. We expect more athletes to emerge as the season progresses, but we feel this is a solid group that can score some points for us.”
Senior Erick Lopez was one of the top runners in the 100 meters last year, and he has been training to have a successful season.
“I started working out from January until we began our preseason a week ago,” said Lopez. “I have also just been mentally preparing for track and not stressing over it.”
Erick already has his goals set out for the season.
“I want to win state and break the school record for the 100 and 200-meter sprints,” said Lopez.
Returning senior and 2017 4×400 meter state champion Shelby Garrison is looking for a repeat.
“I plan on competing in the 4×400 relay, high jump, and maybe open 400 and 200,” said Garrison. “My goal for this season is to get a faster time for my 400 and win state for the 4×400 relay for a second year.”
SWIMMING
Last year’s swim team was very strong, and although losing some seniors, the swim team is still looking to do big things this year.
Head coach Shelby Ruff believes this year’s team will have more state qualifiers than the previous year.
“I think there will be more regional and hopefully, state qualifiers this year. Many of the athletes have been training in the off-season and are looking strong at open swim,” said Ruff. “We have also been building a more well-rounded team the last few seasons, so you should start to see our team record improve as we continue to fill in holes in certain events.”
Ruff expects several of her athletes to have a very big season.
“Nathan Perkinson tied the school record in the 100 breaststroke last year, and I think he’ll definitely get his name on the board this year. We also tried people in some new events at the end of last season that turned out to be a great fit for them individually, so I’m excited to see them develop,” said Ruff. “Look for Tristan Miller and Tara Higley in the 500 Free, Ale Ibarra in the 200 Free, and Hunter Lewis and Nathan Perkinson in the 200 Individual Medley.”
Varsity Baseball
After a couple of slow years, the varsity baseball team is looking to turn things around with a young and talented squad.
New head coach Andy Harmon thinks this refreshed team will make for a successful season and put Lowry back on top.
“This year’s varsity team will be a mix of experienced upperclassmen and talented young players,” said Harmon. “We have six returning players and eleven new varsity players. We have a strong core of returners with Jacob Marriott, Lorenzo Mattson, and Tazmin Milton leading the way on the mound. Tazmin, Jacob, Riley Sakurada, Brendan Domire, and Ridge Ricketts are all returning varsity players who should also provide good offensive production for the team this year.”
“We have a very talented group of sophomores led by Joshua Leveille and Michael Yarnell, coming up from last year’s junior varsity team, that should mix well with the returning players. While the younger players are lacking in experience, they are a talented group, and with the strong leadership from the returning players, they will help our team be successful this season. We have our sights set on earning a playoff spot this season and getting Lowry baseball back to the top of the Northern 3A.”
Varsity Softball
Last year, the varsity softball team got knocked out in their third game of the playoffs. This year, with 8 returning athletes, the girls are looking to take it a step further and get to the state tournament
Head coach Tyrell Lucas is excited to have an experienced team and believes the returning players will play a big role in the team’s success this season.
“We are looking at bringing eight returners back at the Varsity level. We have a lot of leadership and experience with players that have been in our system and know how to win and what our expectations are,” said Lucas. “As always, we expect to compete for the top spot in our league. We will work each day at improving our team chemistry and leveling up to be the best team we can be.”
Senior Kyllie Sappington is ready for the season and thinks the team will have a strong defensive side.
“I think our season should go pretty well; we only have to fill two spots in the infield, so our defense should be really good this year,” said Sappington. “And, like every year, our end goal is to make it to zone and then on to state.”
BOYS GOLF
The golf team put on a strong performance last year, placing third in league tournaments, and then went on to place fourth at the state tournament in Spring Creek. Without losing any upperclassmen, the team is looking to have an even better showing at the state tournament this year.
Coach Andrew Meyer is expecting a strong season from his team.
“I have high hopes that this season will bring another visit to the state tournament in Las Vegas,” said Meyer. “Our team is still young and has a lot of potential. A goal for this season would be to place in the top 3 in both the league and the state tournament.”
Returning senior Zane Fifield has high hopes for this team.
“I think the golf season is going to be really good,” said Fifield. “The team is really young, with only a few seniors, and I expect us to have an amazing year.”
Junior golfer Dillon Patterson believes this is the year Lowry will have its best shot at the state title.
“I believe this season is the season that, as a team, we will become stronger and have a run for the title,” said Patterson. “With ⅚ varsity players from last year returning, we can rely on all of our experience to help our new players progress to the competitive varsity level.”
JV Baseball
The JV Baseball team has had some successful years recently. They look to keep that trend going this year and have some talented freshmen ready to compete.
Head Coach Clay Sagers is ready for a successful season.
“I feel that we have a talented group of freshmen coming in, along with some good sophomores that will help us to have a pretty good JV team. I expect them to be pretty successful because they will push each other to be better,” said Sagers.
JV Softball
Coach of JV softball Shannon McClellan has a young group of girls who have a lot of potential.
“For tryouts, we had a lot of freshmen trying out, more than in a very long time, so I think that maybe getting a younger troop of girls could put us off to a really great start,” said McClellan. “We have girls that have been playing softball for their whole lives, and we haven’t really had something like that in a really long time.”
