More than twice as many are out for boys track and field at Knoxville this year as compared to last season. Coach Eric Kellar is happy to have around 30 guys out this season which means he has a chance to put more combinations together for events. The challenge is most of the team make up is freshman and sophomores, so it is a young Panther squad this season. Kellar tells KNIA/KRLS Sports it will take some time to figure out what some of these younger kids can do and how they will mesh with the juniors and seniors.

Kellar: “It’s hard to tell. We’ve got a lot of new kids, especially freshmen, and we had a few kids that didn’t go out that could have helped us win a conference championship. The young kids really don’t know what they can do so it’ll be exciting to see in the next couple of weeks.”

Kellar adds many of the freshmen will likely be pushed into varsity service this season due to the high numbers of underclassmen. The Panthers get the season underway on March 29th at Pella Christian.