The Norwalk boys track team graduated an athletic, experienced and gifted class of seniors last May. With 87 student-athletes back in the fold, however, head coach Matt Ramthun believes that 2024 can be another exciting season for the Warriors.

Led by a talented and deep group of 800 runners and milers, Norwalk has already posted some impressive indoor times in March. Ramthun tells KNIA Sports that a key to this year’s success will be developing depth in the sprints and field events.

“We’re excited about a lot of things on paper, but we’ll see how that transforms on to the track and in the field and go from there,” Ramthun said. “Last year our strength was our sprinting group, and now this year it kind of shifts. Our strength early on – at least on paper – is our middle distance/distance group.”

The Warriors’ 4×800 relay should be a fun event to watch throughout the spring. The quartet of Tony Anania, AJ Mosqueda, Grant Wallace and Henry Groos clocked a fourth-place time of 8:06.73 at the Class 4A IATC Indoor Championships, setting an indoor school record. Coach Ramthun says that the Warriors had seven guys capable of running on last year’s state meet 4×800 team, and six of them return this season. Cameron Thomas, Carson Fenster and Teegan Kralik are also in the mix, along with some incoming freshmen.

Anania posted indoor school records in both the 3,200 and 1,600 earlier this month, and Kralik will also be a distance standout. The Warriors return three of their four state meet shuttle hurdle relay athletes in Isaac Sutcliffe, Daniel Webster and Daniel Roche. Kaiden Kunze and Tim Koerselman will start the year as the team’s top sprinters, Kunze and freshman Logan Atherton are two of the top jumpers and Harrison Tripp is the Warriors’ best thrower.

Norwalk opens the outdoor season today with a home scrimmage against Oskaloosa at 4:00 p.m. The Warriors are slated to compete in outdoor meets at Simpson College on Tuesday and Waukee Northwest on Thursday.