The Emmaus boys track team wants to improve on last year’s 8-3 record, which relegated the team to 15th place at the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference Meet and 19th at districts. The Green Hornets not only want to improve, their coach expects it.

“It was not a good showing of our team last year,” said head coach Kami Reinhard. “There were several illnesses and injuries that plagued us at the end of the season. I fully expect them to finish significantly higher this year in both the EPC league and district.”

Reinhard’s expectations are predicated on new talent, which should shore up some problem spots.

“We have strengths in most event groups, but the throws have been a weakness in the past,” she said. “We have addressed the throws area directly this year, and can already see significant improvements. I am eager to see how the boys team will perform overall in the EPC and District 11.”

Reinhard subscribes to the time-honored coaching theory that there is no I in the word team.

“My coaching philosophy is to first build a strong team foundation,” she said. “If that occurs, we will have success in one way or another.”

The Hornets suferred four key losses to graduation in Austen Kasaczun, Colby Kocon, Charles Norelli and Jake Ryan, leaving holes in throws, sprints, distance and hurdles.

The good news is Emmaus has quality returnees to help pick up the slack. Jacob Brown, Geoffrey Kleinberg, Ian Cox, Mark Magee, Paul Petre and Keshav Shankar comprise a solid staple of distance runners. Mason Boyd, Matthew Bruchak, Colin Byrne, Aiden Dougherty, Izaiah McPherson and Lubens Myers, along with Jakob Smolinsky, Brendan Ward and Evan Witman give Emmaus depth in sprints and mid-distance runs.

Sylis Alliston, Keyon Carroll-Herring and Giovanni D’Alessandro will handle the jumping duties during 2019. Their mates in hurdles include Jaiden Acevedo, Douglas Fair, Matthew Gertner and Alex Harmon.

In throws, the Hornets have Dmitri Garcia, Billy Hummer, Connor Inman, Jaylin Roper, Arthur Schmidt, Tristan Schmidt and Christopher Tigar. Pole vaulters feature Toshan Doodnauth, Brody Pavelko and Luke Rautzhan.

Reinhard also welcomes a cadre of newcomers that could make an impact. Colin Schaffer, Gabriel Krem and James Manley are a trifecta that could go the distance in distance. Dylan Bassett, Holden Brown, Ryan Gertner, Jared Green, Jarrett Lysek, Ryan Todd and Gabe Trexler look to explode in sprints. In jumps, Green Hornet fans can watch the emergence of Dashawn Fluerimond, Luca Flick, Bryan Bertsch, Mattew Nyemscek and Alexander Taylor.

In hurdles, the new recruits are Will Bassett and Kyle Ryan and Alex Kleinschmidt, Dylan McHugh, Hayden Schmidt and Mac Thomas will add depth to throws, while Owen Mont will handle pole vaults.

“Our expectation is to be a top-performing team in the league and district in a team-united environment building on the values of trust, respect and confidence,” Reinhard said. “The EPC league and District 11 are extremely strong this year, so we need to be prepared to perform against teams who are stronger this year.”