Young Dogs Lead the Pack

It’s not very often that you find a team with as much young talent as the Kenmore East Bulldog Indoor Track team this year.

The Bulldogs return a 400H Champion, pieces of a school record-setting 4x200m relay, a Pole Vault champion, a High Jump champion and a Pentathlon champion. Perhaps the most exciting part for Head Coach Tim Metivier and the Bulldogs is that they’re mostly underclassmen.

“It’s something special in that class,” Metivier said. “A couple of years ago I volunteered as an assistant during the outdoor season when all these guys were eighth and ninth graders and I could tell at that point they were going to be something special.”

For the girls, leading the way are sophomore Casey Rymarczyk and junior Julia Brundin. Rymarczyk who took first place at the NFL Championships and third place at the Section VI Championships for 400H in the outdoor season, is coming out for indoor for the first time.

“She’s a really hard worker in practice and has a great attitude,” Metivier said. “She’s always ready to give an extra effort and run an extra race.”

Brundin took first place at the NFL Championships and fifth place at the Section VI Championships in Pole Vault during the outdoor season.

“She’s incredibly versatile” said Metiver. “She brightens up everyone around her, and they work hard because of it.”

For the boys, junior Joey Socha-Watson and sophomore Nick Coburn return after big seasons on indoor and outdoor last year.

Socha-Watson took first place in the High Jump for the Small Division Team Championships during the indoor season. The junior was also a part of the 4x200m relay that now holds the school record, running the event in 1:37.93.

“It was his first ever year doing track and we could tell he was incredibly talented,” Metivier said. “He breaks the laws of physics.”

The season almost didn’t happen for Socha-Watson as he suffered an injury right before the outdoor season and they thought he would miss the entire season. But Socha-Watson came back from the injury after three weeks.

As a freshman, Coburn took first place in the Pentathlon at the NFL Championships as well qualified for the Section VI Championships in High Jump, 110H and 400H during the outdoor season.

“One of my goals was to have a pentathlete. I pegged (Coburn) right from the start,” Metivier said. “He was just scratching the surface of what he’s capable of.”

Also, coming back for the Bulldogs are juniors Emily Bandinelli and John O’Connell, and senior Qedar Christa, who was also part of the 4x200m relay team last year.

The depth for the Bulldogs has skyrocketed this season. Kenmore East had almost 70 kids come out for indoor track this year, up from about 40 kids last year.

Building depth is very important for the Head Coach. “It’s my main priority,” said Metivier.

This past fall Head Coach Tim Metivier was inducted into the Kenmore East Athletic Hall of Fame for his achievements as a Cross Country and Track athlete at Ken-East.

“Every day we do warm ups past his (hall of fame) plaque, it motivates us,” said Rymarczyk.

Among those coming out for indoor the first time are eight-grader Lauren Reinhart and brothers Franc and Papouch Schmoyer who ran outdoor last year.

Rymarczyk, Brundin, Socha-Watson and Coburn have all noticed not an only increase in numbers for the Bulldogs, but also an increase in talent.

“Relays are going to be difficult to pick out,” Rymarczyk said.

“It’s going to be a real competition,” Socha-Watson said.

The Kenmore East Indoor Track team will have their first meet this season on Dec. 3 at the Lancaster Field House.