SACO— Thornton Academy is coming off of a state championship season in indoor track and field. A few key faces have graduated and a new batch of young athletes is stepping in.

Coach Lisa Huntress is not worried about the turnover and accepts that it is all part of coaching at the high school level.

“The way I see it is that every year a class leaves and a new one steps in, that is what high school sports are all about,” said Huntress. “We are fortunate to have a great group of coaches that do a good job. Some have been here for a while so the continuation is a big advantage for us.”

Huntress has moved on from last year and is focused on the young season at hand.

Although the Trojans have many familiar faces on the team, there are a handful of young players and newcomers that will need to make an immediate impact.

With the amount of young players, Huntress feels that the key to her team’s success will be the progress they make during the course of the season.

“I think it is going to be about our progression. We had a great year last year and we accomplished a lot which is great. Not only do we have a lot of great kids coming back but we have some newcomers too. I think there will be a natural progression that will determine how well we perform,” said Huntress.

The Trojans look to be well rounded as they were last year, but according to Huntress the throwers may be the ones that make the biggest impact.

“Our throwers will be our greatest strength, we also have a lot of great runners in the hurdles. We also have some new high jumpers that have shown a lot of enthusiasm,” said Huntress. “We have girls like Olivia Libby and Sam Curran who have done a good job so far. Hopefully we will continue throughout the year, it will be nice to see where we finish.”

Huntress is not expecting perfection from her team and understands that it will take time to hit their peak.

Huntress has stressed the importance of patience to herself and her coaching staff.

“I don’t have any concerns, I’m a very patient coach. I understand that this is a process, and we will have to develop and nurture what we have here,” said Huntress. “It is all a cycle but that is what we are used to, that is just how we roll. With that approach we have had a lot of success and good years. I think once we get deeper into the season we will settle into a good spot.”

— Sports Staff Writer Alex Sponseller can be reached at sports@journaltribune.com or at 282-1535 ext. 323. Follow the Journal Tribune Sports Department on Twitter @JournalTsports.

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