Courtesy Photo The 2023 Alpena High girls track team is pictured in this courtesy photo.

ALPENA — The Alpena High girls track team aims to be small, but mighty this spring.

With a talented mix of veterans and up-and-comers, the Wildcats have all the ingredients to accomplish great things this season that will help the program this spring and into the future.

“We’ve been doing really well as a team,” Alpena coach Trevor Roznowski said. “We have a small group of seniors, but a lot of young talent that’s been pushing the limits in practice. It’ll be neat to see how they all come together, especially during the end of season meets.”

Though it’s still early in the season, Roznowski has seen many of Alpena’s athletes take big strides already. That will be important as the Wildcats hope to challenge for Big North Conference and regional honors as the season progresses.

“It’s going to be a very tough year in the Big North Conference. Traverse City West has been performing well at the top, but we have a lot of great athletes who will push other athletes at the conference and regional levels,” Roznowski said.

Among Alpena’s returners this year is junior Emma Dickins, who has already had some strong showings in the distance running events on the heels of a stellar cross country season. Among those joining her in the distance events are juniors Samantha Zolnierek, Liberty Prevost and Alison Borowski as well as sophomore Elizabeth Barnhill.

In the sprinting events, Alpena returns senior Chloe Lawrence and junior Keslee Jex and also has a talented young core of underclassmen including sophomores Natalie Maychen, Ava Kolar, Isabelle Liske and Callie Brousseau along with freshmen Rozlyn Freese, Kiera Paad and Clare Lacross. Senior Carmen Frias has had a strong start to the season as well.

In the hurdles, Lawrence and junior Maddie Linton are among Alpena’s leaders and Linton will also be looked to as a top performer in the high jump. Lawrence will also factor into Alpena’s relay teams as a part of the 400 and 800 relays.

In the throwing events, sophomores Melody Kauffman and Kiera Prue have been among Alpena’s top finishers this season and juniors Sydney Hitzelberger, Olivia Miller, and Braelyn Durfee as well as seniors Taeghan Werle and Natalie Koproski and sophomore Reaghan Fitzpatrick are also in the mix.

The Wildcats may not earn many team victories at meets this season. But more important than the wins is the experience the Wildcats will gain. With just five seniors on this season’s roster, the Wildcats figure to be set up well for the future and Roznowski said his team is focused on making improvements that move the program forward.

“We are really fortunate to have a great group of girls who show up and work hard every day,” Roznowski said.