The boys’ track team has a lot to live up to this year. Co-sharing the league title last year with Lynbrook, and winning it the year before, took a lot of work. After graduating many seniors, and losing one key athlete, the team has lost a lot of its experience.

"This year is going to be a tough year," head coach Jason Fung said. "We’re returning some strong athletes, but we’ve lost a lot. We’ve lost our strength in sprinting and jumping, two key events."

After graduating Tolu Wusu, John Hsieh, and Zack Appelman, there are no established sprinters this year, according to Fung.

Junior Patrick Molnar, a key athlete in the jumps who made it to the Central Coast Section finals last year, will not be returning this season due to knee surgery.

Senior Joseph Ashufta echoed these sentiments. "The team is not as strong as last year. We’ve lost a lot of powerhouses (Tolu and John), we’re going to need all the people we can get."

However, the team is strong across the board in the hurdles, distance, and throws. "We have some really talented people coming back in those three events," Fung said. In the hurdles, the team will be returning Ashufta and juniors Chris Reade and David Lefebvre. The distance squad made up primarily of juniors also has sophomore Scott Himmelberger and senior Pedro Duarte, as well as junior Danny Duarte. In the throws, seniors James McCluskey and Nathan Taber, as well as junior Tommy Stables and Alex Jugant will be returning.

One of the strong points of the season this year is the coaches. "There are some really good coaches this year and they really know the kids and how to deal with them. Fung said, "They can relate."

Ashufta agreed: "I have a really good relationship with all the coaches, and I can talk to them about whatever. They’re always there for us.’

So far the team is made up of 80 people, not including those who will be arriving later on from winter sports. "This team is one of the largest in a few years and we’ll need to do some trimming," Fung said.

Fung has already set his eyes on a few goals. "It’s be nice if we could win league again, but I’m not so sure. At the moment, I want to work on getting the kids through the season, trying to prevent injuries not only at the beginning of the season, but also at the end of the season," he said. "That’s what hurt us last year, injuries at the end of the season. I also want to get some of the kids to the state meet."

Fung is also concentrating on developing the team and giving it the experience they need, something, which will come in handy next year.
He said, "I hope we’re in for a lot of good surprises this year in the sprinter and jumpers. It’s too early in the season to tell, only the meets will tell."

The annual intersquad meet will take place in a couple of weeks and Fung will be able to find the team’s strengths then. The track team will have its first league meet on March 11 at Wilcox.