Coaches- John Zuelsdorf (19th head, 22nd overall), Bill Turgeon (5th, asst.)
Last season’s accomplishments- Girls- 144-25, 6th cons. state qual., 11th state; Boys-142-22, 10th cons. state qual., 12th state.
Major losses- Sarah Maday and Maxine Gustafson (multi-state qual. in CC and track), Rachel Schoone, Colleen Krick; Sam Arnott, Tyler Bostwick, Nathan Kainz (2008 state champs members), Jordan McAllister.
Key returnees- Girls- Rachel Sudbury (2-time ROY GNC, 2-time sect. champ), Taylor Laack (3-time state qual.), Stephanie Welke (1st GNC), Rachael Miller (2nd GNC), Kelsey Renn (HM GNC), Regan Swan, Emily Miller.
Boys- Connor Ahrens, Dylan Dahl and Garrett Daigle (state qual.); Troy Salewske, Brogan Lemke, Ryan Kuehn.
Promising newcomers- Girls- Jessie Harmon, Devin Swan, Sammi White; Boys-Bryan Tomek, Thomas Miller.
Zuelsdorf quotable- “Our girls are very close as a team, they really work well together and make good choices. They are excellent role models and once again have high expectations this season. The potential for this squad to continue our strong tradition exists. We have a very tough schedule this year, so we will have our hands full.
“The boys are in a re-building phase as the last of the State title team from two years ago has departed. However, the underclassmen that spent time as understudies to those athletes are now juniors and seniors and are looking forward to working hard to continue the strong tradition at Tomahawk.
“Rachel Sudbury (Jr.) will be clearing the way for the team at races. She placed in 3 events at the state track and field meet this past spring (800m/1600m/3200m relay) and has improved on her speed. Taylor Laack (Sr.) will provide the leadership for the team.
“Most of our scoring pack returns as juniors this season. Stephanie Welke is the lone sophomore. She worked her way into the #2 spot a couple of times late in the season. The girls once again are eager for a return trip to Rapids and improving on their 11th place State finish from last season, but solid programs at Freedom, Green Bay Notre Dame, Wittenberg, and Lakeland (recently dropped to D2) will make that task even tougher this year.
“Despite losing four seniors from the (boys) varsity, we are returning three key athletes that scored for us at the varsity-level through-out the season last year. Juniors Connor Ahrens and Dylan Dahl, along with senior Garrett Daigle all played key roles in our ninth consecutive trip to the state meet last season. They would like nothing better than to keep that streak alive.”