It will be a legacy to follow, but first year head coach Jacob Daum will be bringing nearly a decade of track and field experience to the table as he follows the path of Dale Hochstein this spring in Wayne.
It’ll be the first time in 45 years that track and field in Wayne will not have previous head coach Dale Hochstein setting the workouts for those who ran between the 100-meter dash to the two-mile run and scheduling meets but for the combined team of roughly 70 Wayne High track & field competitors, the goal will remain the same of keeping the tradition of improving their times and marks and making it to Burke.
After serving four years as a volunteer assistant while in college followed by the past four years as an assistant while teaching, Jacob Daum will be in his ninth season coaching track & field with the Blue Devils but first year head coach.
He said he learned from coach Hochstein on setting the workouts, interval times in practice and more.
“All those little nuance things that you may not think of as a track coach,” said Daum. “I was able to pick up on from him. And, of course, having his cell phone number. He’s a lover of track, like I am. So, if I have ever have a question, he’s my go-to guy that I call.”
Coach Daum has been in charge of sprints and hurdles. An experience group of assistants include Mike Jaixen (high jump/relays), Brendan Dorcey (throws), Terry Beair (pole vault) along with volunteer assistant Mandy Stabler, Christa Dutcher (distance) along with volunteer assistant Trace Ebert along and Rylee Wagner (long/triple jumps).
Coach Daum thanks Director of Athletics Mike Powicki at Wayne State College for allowing team to work indoors in preparation for their first meet in late March.
A total of 32 girls and 36 boys will make up Wayne High track & field.
Seniors include Rylin Hall (throws) for the girls along with Kasen York (800/one-mile/two-mile), Mason Beatty (throws) and foreign exchange student Nacho Dias (100/200/400) are seniors for the boys.
Junior Nyla Bolles (400/pole vault) and junior Elle Powicki (hurdles) will be the top returners for the Blue Devil girls. Bolles qualified in the 400-meter dash last year at state while Powicki is a two-time state qualifier in the 100-meter hurdles just missing out on a medal last year and earned an eighth place medal her freshman season.
A strong freshman and sophomore class will help in the 4x400 and 4x800.
Top returners for the boys will be junior Grant Mass (pole vault) and junior Drew Miller (800/one-mile/two-mile) along with York (800/one-mile/two-mile). Grant Maas qualified in pole vault last year as Miller is a two-time state qualifier in the two-mile. A few more boys will assist in the distance races as well as sprints, hurdles and relays.
Coach Daum added what the general goal from the coaching staff is.
“We get most excited about when we get to see kids consistently improve throughout the season,” Daum added. “Our main goal as a track and field team is not to just improve times but just improve general athletic ability of all of our kids. We have a general belief that track & field supports and improves every sport at Wayne High.”
The first meet of the season will be the Wayne State College High School Classic at the Wildcat Dome on Saturday, March 22. The team has been able to work on where exchange zones will be, the start/finish lines for the 400 and 800 on a 300-meter track along with step patterns and general technique.
Outdoor competition will get underway on Tuesday, April 1 during the Columbus Scotus Invite.
Coach Daum also highlighted Kern Track from the pole vault, throws, high jump/long jump areas.
“We have a really nice facility that the community should be proud of,” Daum mentioned. “We get a lot of community support for our two home track meets. We always have community volunteers that ask to help out at meets. Then we usually get a good turnout from community members as well.”
Home track & field meets in Wayne will be on Tuesday, April 8 and Tuesday, April 15.
