With the spring season comes more sun, shining a new light on spring sports. The Skyline Track Team warms up to the new season with fresh goals and its new head coach, Caryn Gehrke.
“We’re stabilizing around 110 to 120 athletes, almost twice as big as the team was last year,” said Gehrke. “Bigger than any Skyline track team has ever been.”
With the new head coach, there are new workout routines and new members, which are factors that will help this team grow. “We start with warming up and strengthening to [prevent] injuries,” said Ayden Schlecht (‘26). “Then we usually go into a half mile jog, and then we start our actual workouts [for sprinters],”
Gehrke went to high school in Benzonia, Michigan where she became a state champion in the 800 meter race. She then ran for Columbia University in New York and later coached there. Now, she has returned to Michigan where she has brought all of her running knowledge to help Skyline’s team improve.
To create a winning team, you need to “set high expectations for your coaching staff and athletes,” said Gehrke. “I care much more that we create a program where everyone is held to those expectations … I don’t care why they’re here. I care that while they’re here, they work hard.”
Individual athletes often have personal goals apart from the team’s objectives that they wish to accomplish alongside supporting one another. “I want to place at states this year,” said Schlecht (‘26). “I do a lot more weightlifting than most track athletes and that helps me improve a lot.”
The track team has seen an explosion of growth, making Skyline Track history with the amount of participants this year. Irie Screase (‘27) is a freshman who has already made improvement starting her running career with the cross country season. “I hope to get progressively faster, [and] for my senior year to be my best year,” said Screase. “[I also want] to go to outdoor nationals every year.”
Skyline has been on the right track, as they have placed highly in many events. Within their division and region, they placed first in the boys’ 400, as well as placing second in the boys’ 4×400, boys’ 4×800 relay, and girls’ 100. They placed third in the boys’ 200, boys’ 4×200 relay, girls’ 400, girls’ 4×400 relay, and girls’ 200. In field events, they placed first in long jump and second in pole vault.
The team will be each other’s biggest support as they make their way through the rest of the season. “Our athletes have made really big strides and are more prepared,” said Gehrke. “I’m very optimistic about this season.”
