Southmont track and field has been successful under the leadership and guidance of Desson Hannum throughout the years. Now the Mounties will look for that same success under the direction of a new, yet very familiar name. Cross Country coach Shelley Allen has taken over the track and field program this season as Hannum moves into a coaching role with the Mountie junior high baseball program. The transition for Allen has been smooth as she details.
“ I was really stressing everything at first but thankfully Coach Hannum runs very organized programs, and I am able to use some of the systems that he already had in place,” Allen said. “Having that to fall back on has been really helpful in setting things up for the season as well as the future. I also have on my staff some veteran coaching that have decades of experience to help me and teach me the ropes of running a successful track team. Their knowledge and passion for the sport is invaluable to me and the team. I am trying to learn all that I can from them.”
Back on the track, the Mountie boys will be looking to make it three straight county titles this spring while the Mountie girls look to get back on top. South returns a majority of it’s teams on both sides.
For the boys Marlin Williams and Tyler Petroski are both back in the pole vault, Hayden Hess, Ethan Nelson,, and Nolan Boyer along with junior Vince Reimondo all will provide the Mounties with leadership and experience in multiple events. For the Lady Mounties, Shelby Chieppo, DeLorean Mason, Jaysa Crull, Darby Cottrell, Amarah Shannon among others will help guide the girls team.
“This year we have a very strong boys’ team with most of our strongest athletes from last season returning this year,” Allen said. “On the girls’ side we have most of our strongest athletes returning as well as quite a few freshmen looking to leave their mark.”
When it comes to Allen’s expectations for her teams it really boils down to just a few things.
“My overall expectations for the teams are that they practice hard so they can compete harder,” she said. “I expect to see PRs out of each athlete whether they are #1 in their event or not. I expect everyone to improve. I also expect each athlete to take responsibility for their improvement. They are given all the tools they need to succeed; they just need to take advantage of them to the best of their ability.”
Southmont will make the short trip to CHS on Wednesday for their first meet of the season.
