Freedom High School has a new head track and field coach this season and a roster that has increased by over 50-percent from last year.

Marc Zimmerman, most recently a throwing coach at Emmaus, took over for Geoff Laird in December, and took it upon himself to increase numbers by recruiting athletes within the school.

"I wanted to take on the challenge of being a head coach. I knew of some of the kids [at Freedom]. Another challenge was to increase our numbers. We have 82 right now," Zimmerman said.

Returning for the girls team will be Shaina Palmer in distance, Gia Erie and Jenny Capuano in throwing, and Jayla Northington in sprinting.

"Shaina is certainly one to watch in districts. [Erie and Capuano] are having a successful season. [Northington] is currently hurt, but she should be back after two more weeks," said Zimmerman.

Returning for the boys team will be Will Alpaugh in distance, Roberto Diez in sprinting, Demond Farley in jumps, and Anthony Ortiz in hurdles.

In addition, Juwan Northington will return in hurdles, and Victor Gonzalez and Roland Cash will return in jumps.

"The boys have a lot of potential. They should get a few wins as a team. The girls should be individually successful. We have a couple newer kids [to watch], so we'll see," Zimmerman said.

The Patriots first meet will have been this past Monday.

"I'm looking forward to just getting to see the kids outside of practice and seeing where we are from a starting point. Because it's my first year, I don't know if we have a lot of team goals, but how much we can improve the kids from start to finish," said Zimmerman.

Assisting Zimmerman will be Bob Thear for distance, Tim Carnes for sprints and relays, and Tom Moser for jumps. Since Zimmerman is the primary throwing coach, Amy Putlock will assist for those events.