Wildcat girls’ track will challenge in NCC

Things are looking up these days for the Humboldt High girls’ track team.

Wildcat head coach Spencer Ross and his staff welcomed 36 athletes when pre-season drills began. Among that group are 14 returning letterwinners spread out over several events.

“The good thing about our numbers is we are pretty evenly spread throughout the classes. We’ve got eleven freshmen, eight sophomores, five juniors and eleven seniors. When you talk about building a stable program, you need consistent numbers in each grade,” Ross said. “We have some areas where we will have to work on building depth but numbers-wise we are in good space.”

Last year at state, Aubry Fisher ran 17th in the 3,000-meters. The distance medley relay of Landry Lash, Gracey May, Bella Metli and Brynn Malo finished 22nd. Brynn Malo was 24th in the 800-meters.nLooking at his squad for 2026, Ross is excited about the returnees and newcomers in the field events.

“In the high jump we are looking at Mia Schluter and Kendall Works. Mia is a letterwinner back for us. Kendall is back out for track this year. She’s been out before. We’re excited to see what she can do. Fiona Tinken took a year off but she is back healthy and so I’m excited to see what she can do this season,” Ross said.

“Gracey May has some experience. For her it will depend on how many running events we will be using her in. She could be a contributor. Freshman Callie Olsen and Brayleigh Angstrom both had success in middle school and so we are hoping to see how a year of strength training and speed school and explosiveness can enhance their growth. We think they can be good high jumpers down the road,” Ross said.

“In the long jump we have Payton Elman who has some experience. Gracey May is another name there with experience. Tessa Thompson and Kesley Emick have some experience. I really think the jumping events can be a strength for us this year. We haven’t scored a ton of points there in the last few years. If we can find a way to do that then it will help us place high in meets and in the conference,” Ross said.

“In the throwing events we have four regular throwers in Abby Armitage, Lucy Goodenow, Tristan Foth and Hayden Graaf. Abby has experience in both the shot and discus but this year she is going to specialize in discus. Her goal is to get up around that 100-foot mark. If she can do that, she will score us some points,” Ross said.

“Those four girls will fill the throwing spots and maybe we can get some surprises there this season. We do have a few others we are working on. Hopefully we can get our throwing numbers up next year,” Ross said.

Clear Lake won the NCC meet last year with 194 points. Algona was second at 153 and Humboldt a distant third with 74. Ross expects the three teams to figure again for league supremacy this year but he’s high on his squad’s development.

“Last year Clear Lake and Algona ran away with the team scoring in our conference meet. We were in third. From third through eighth we were all bunched up with only a 25-point difference. Clear Lake graduated their top three kids who scored a ton of points for them. Knowing their numbers I’m sure they would have to be the favorite going into the season,” Ross said.

“Algona lost their top two or three but they are kind of like us, they always have 35-40 kids on their team they can usually find quite a few scorers,” Ross said. “It will all depend on teams’ freshman classes and who emerges from there. I can see us finishing in the top half again.”

“I see the pieces of our squad coming together in that this season or next season, if we stay healthy and perform the way I think we can perform, I don’t see why we can’t compete for a top three spot,” Ross said.

Ross will again be assisted by Nikki Rasmussen, Jason Hoag, Ross Petersen, Derrick Elman and James Works.

“I head up the sprinting events and oversee everything else. Nikki Rasmussen handles our distance kids, 800s on up. She’s been a mainstay the last few years. Coach Hoag heads up our hurdles and he always gets the best out of his kids in those events. Ross Petersen and Derrick Elman handle the throwing events. They are knowledgeable and get the best out of the kids. James Works is back this year helping us in the jumping events. He has a college background and has made an impact with the kids in the past,” Ross said. “I’m excited to have all of them back this year.”

“Adalyn Crossley and Tyler Newberry are managers this year. They have been very helpful for me in taking attendance and setting up hurdles, blocks and cones for practices,” Ross said.

Humboldt’s own relays will be on Monday, April 27. The NCC meet is May 7 at Webster City.

Look for daily news and sports scores online at www.humboldtnews.com.
2026 WILDCAT GIRLS
TRACK SCHEDULE
Mar. 19 Humboldt Indoor
April 7 at Clear Lake
April 9 at Hampton
April 14 at Algona
April 21 at Pocahontas
April 23-25 Drake Relays
April 23 Fort Dodge Relays
April 27 Humboldt Invite
April 23 at Storm Lake
May 4 at Iowa Falls
May 7 NCC meet at Webster City
May 14 2A qualifying meet, tba
May 21-23. State meet, Des Moines