The West Fork boys track and field team is preparing to open the 2025-26 season with an emphasis on increasing its state meet presence.
The Warhawks sent Xavier Haller to the state meet in the high jump last season, but Haller graduated in the offseason. Head Coach Caleb Hovenga says this year’s group, particularly the upperclassmen, is focused on qualifying more events for state.
“On the first day of practice, we all sat down and wrote down what we’ve got — goals for track, goals for school, goals for life, whatever they’d like to share,” says Hovenga. “A lot of these guys, especially the seniors, are really looking to get down to Des Moines this year. We only had one event go down last year, and a couple of those events were just on the outside looking in. So a lot of these guys really want to end their season on a high note and get down to state and run in front of the big crowd there.”
Hovenga says one of the team’s strengths this season could be in the sprint events, where West Fork returns experienced runners and adds a sizable group of freshmen.
“We got a lot of returners from last year that were very good at the sprinters, and they’re picking up right where they left off last year in a couple of the indoor meets we’ve had already,” says Hovenga. “And we’re bringing in a pretty well-versed group of freshmen here. They’re making up about half the team right now. And those guys are primarily in the sprint stuff, and we’re kind of converting them around and seeing where they’ll fit in with the high school group as opposed to a middle school group. But I think we’re going to be pretty talented on the sprint side this year.”
The Warhawks are scheduled to open the outdoor season March 31 in St. Ansgar.
