Sultan track athletes learning on the job

There’s a fair amount of rookies on the Sultan track and field team this season — some are freshmen, some are upperclassmen. Two of the Turks’ best athletes on the girls side haven’t been able to compete because of injuries. Things haven’t gone quite the way Sultan coach John Hubbard envisioned a few months ago, but he said his team is making progress.

“We’re focusing more on basic things,” Hubbard said. “I’ve got a lot of kids that don’t know the details of how we’ve done things in the past, so we’ve had to teach them, and I definitely think they’re getting better. It’s been fun to see their growth as the season’s gone by.”

Hubbard said he hopes his team can qualify between four and seven athletes for the Class 1A state meet. Sprinter Zack Zornes, distance runner Foster Frame, hurdlers Camry Zaffram and Ben Biddle, thrower James Dodd and jumper Claire Sorgen have turned in most of the Turks’ best individual performances so far. But the absences of sprinter Emilee Buzzell, a 2016 state meet participant, and thrower Katherine Hubbard have been keenly felt.

“Claire hasn’t been a surprise. We were expecting her to be where she is. But some of the others have surprised,” John Hubbard said. “There’s been some positive things going on. Different leaders have stepped up. We’re trying to focus on things that we can control and getting better.”