In late April, Catasauqua head track coach Glenn Reightler believes his club will be in more of an advantageous situation than in late March. The Roughies' progress basically has been bottled due to the series of inclement weather. They will get an initial reading on their squad when they open this week.

"We just haven't had enough time outside," said Reightler. "We're really not in track shape right now. We have been running the high school hallways and doing our exercises, but it really isn't the same.

"We'll use the first couple of meets to get ourselves in the necessary shape and condition."

The Roughies also will be in a state of transition as they lost a number of key contributors, one being distance runner Anthony Brinkley, who was a frequent finisher in the top-three spots.

Reightler is optimistic senior Ra'Von Burton will be ready to return to action soon. Burton, who suffered a season-ending knee injury late in the football season and missed the entire basketball season, is expected to excel in the 100 and 200 and be a key member of the team's 4 x 100 relay team.

"We're hoping he (Burton) is back soon," said Reightler. "(Burton) is among the top sprinters in the area. He has been working out and we'll wait for the doctor's OK."

Junior Ricky Houser will also be back in the jumps. Senior Paryss Marshall will again handle the hurdles and will likely be a member of the 4 x 100 relay. Senior Jacob Rusnock is back in the distance runs. Junior Jared Stephen will return in the javelin and fellow junior Spencer Phillips will also run distance. Senior Ty Kern will handle the pole vault duties.

On the girls' side, junior Trinity Henderson, who has been among the top place finishers since her freshman year, should again have a solid year in all of the field events. She placed fourth in the shot put at the district meet last season.

Junior Dakoha Zelinsky also is expected to be a steady force in the field events.

Currently, Reightler has a combined 58 candidates for both squads. However, the vast majority of his athletes are upperclassmen, leaving less than 20 sophomores and freshmen combined.

"We have mostly junior and seniors," said Reightler. "We don't have a lot of younger athletes. We were hoping to work more underclassmen into our lineup this year."

With a certain maturing year ahead, Reightler is keeping everything in its proper perspective.

"It will be a hard year for us," said Reightler. "We do have a number of kids at several events, but we just can't get a read on any of them yet. It is really hard to tell what we have right now. We'll know we can improve, but it will take time."