It’s only one meet, but the early results are encouraging for the Norwalk girls track and field team. The Warriors opened their 2024 outdoor season on Tuesday night with a third-place showing at the Simpson Classic, winning three events.

With a roster of 55 student-athletes, Norwalk appears to be strongest and deepest in the short sprints, as evidenced by Tuesday’s gold medals in the 4×100 and 4×200 relays. Head coach Charity Campbell also points out that the Warriors are experienced in the sprints, led by the senior group of Hailey Gear, Savannah Welch, Jaylynn Brandt, Kennedy Robbins and Ashlyn Brown, as well as junior Nyah Hulbert.

Campbell tells KNIA Sports that she saw great determination, hard work and many nice performances at Simpson, and she’s excited about her team’s potential.

“We have a good core group of seniors coming back in our sprints and some of our distance runners, so that is good to see that they had some success (Tuesday) night,” Campbell said. “Some of our younger athletes – our sophomores coming back off their freshman year – [are] getting a little stronger and putting up some good performances as well. [I am] excited for what we have… and can’t wait to watch it grow as we continue the season.”

Campbell is happy to welcome junior Mya Butler back to the lineup this spring after she missed last season while recovering from knee surgery. Butler won the long jump on Tuesday with a leap of nearly 15 and a half feet, and will give the team a lift in the 400 and 800 events.

Sophomores Cambry Livingston, Ava Carlson and Grace DeRocher are expected to emerge in the distance events, aided by the senior leadership of Morgan Swartzlander and Emerson Sup.

The Warrior girls will look to reload in the hurdles after three-fourths of last year’s school record-breaking shuttle hurdle relay was lost to graduation. They must also replace state 400 champion Claire Farrell, who now runs at Kansas University, and distance runner Bree Mauro, who is at Northwest Missouri State.

Campbell hopes the team can aim for a top-three finish in the rugged Little Hawkeye Conference Meet later this season. She adds that the Warriors will develop goals for the state meet as the season progresses.