Multiple school records broken at Southwest

By Kyle Troutman [email protected]

Southwest High School’s track and field team put together a season to remember this spring, highlighted by state qualifiers, a state medalist and multiple school records.

“I’d give the season a B+,” said Steve Voyak, Southwest track and field coach. “Four athletes went to sectional, three more went to State, and  e had one All-Stater. Add in four school records broken (both javelins and high and long jump by Dylan Frost), and it was a good season.”

Voyak said one of the most impressive stories of the season belonged to senior Tobias Smith.

“Since track is more of an individual vs a team sport, I will focus on an individual,” Voyak said. “Senior Tobas Smith had no business making it out of District given the staunch competition, let alone qualifying for State but he ran his two best races of the year at District and Sectional and beat the overwhelming odds.”

“He made up more than 30 seconds over two weeks and beat guys he hadn’t beaten all season,” he said. “And to do it senior year and qualify for State for the first time, wow.”

While pleased with the season’s accomplishments, Voyak said there was still room for growth.

“[We needed more] effort,” Voyak said. “I have three or four other athletes that should have been better than they were. They have incredible potential. That’s my fault as the coach, but they also must be accountable for their actions.

“They need to work harder, because I do think the results will come.”

One performance in particular stood out among the season’s highlights.

“Junior Lane Hendrix broke the school record in javelin at Seneca,” Voyak said. “Some young athletes talk a good game but are not willing to sacrifice and put in the time. He really worked on his footwork and fundamentals ,and it paid off. And, he clearly means business, because he broke it again at Districts.”

Voyak credited the senior class for providing leadership and memorable performances.

“Tobias Smith led by example,” Voyak said. “Nobody runs the miles he runs on the guys’ side. Dylan Frost drew a crowd at most every meet. Everybody wanted to see Dylan jump to see if they were going to see something amazing that night. He broke two long-standing school records in less than a week.

“Olivia Clanton was steady and consistent throughout her four years of track. Whatever I asked her to do, she did, without any complaints.”

Voyak said several underclassmen are positioned to lead the program moving forward.

“Lane will be our senior captain next season,” Voyak said. “He is both fun and serious at the same time. Sidney Roe will be the girls captain. I want to see her take on more of a leadership role next season.

“She is incredibly consistent but I want to see her lead some of our other athletes.”

Juniors Cash Harbick (shot and disc) and Lucas Ingram (sprints/relays) made significant strides this season, Voyak said.

“Sophomore Bailie Miniard has real talent in the sprints,” he added. “Freshman Race Pippin is definitely ready to take the next step in the jumps. And, junior Jazmyn Rivas has real talent as a runner but needs to take it to the next level to start seeing some strong results.”

Voyak said the Trojans enjoyed a successful season but could have accomplished even more with greater effort.

“We had a good season, but with a little more effort, we could have been even more successful,” he said.

Looking ahead, Voyak said he is eager to see the program compete in a new conference and continue building on this year’s success.

“It will be fun to be in a new, highly competitive conference (Ozark 9),” Voyak said. “It will be fun to see where we stack up against all the new teams. We want to get more athletes to state, break more school records and win more medal.

“We have a strong middle school program, so I will be excited to welcome all of the eighth-graders to the program.”