Your name: Ed Jurotich

Your School: Wentzville Holt High School Mascot/Team name: Indians

Which spring sport(s) do you coach? Boys Track and Field

How many years have you been coaching? 15 years with our middle school program and an additional 8 years at Holt high school.

What was your record last year? We finished in the top three places in 5 of the eight large meets we went to.  We also had a state champion triple jumper (Terence Hawkins).

How is your team shaping up for this season? We should be very competitive this year.  I have a pretty balanced team and we have some experienced athletes that understand what kind of work it will take if they are to achieve their goal of winning the Gateway Athletic Conference South division and sending several of them to state.

Who do you expect to be the leaders on this team and why? This is hard to say.  I have a large group of Juniors that seem to take charge but no one individual tries to be in charge.

Which athletes do you expect to be impact players this year, why? I have a strong group of sprinters with Senior Kirk Noah,Juniors Matt Allensworth , Marques Gomillian, Cal Hawkins, Sophomore Dylon Sacco and Freshman Chris Campbell.  They have worked in the off season preparing for track.  I also have Sophomores Evan Engelage, Danny Jack, Austin Gerlt, Dan Zagaja and Junior Andrew Klopstein who are my distance runners.  Several of the men have been out running all winter long trying to gain an edge this year.

What challenges are you expecting this year? The biggest challenge I face is helping these young men continue to learn that involvement in sports is a privilege, not a right.  It is a path to learning responsibility, sportsmanship, and building a strong character.  

What is the best part about coaching this team? Getting to watch these young men grow and develop into great athletes, great students, and great members of this community who go on to college and beyond making the world a better place because they are a part of it.  It is not all about the sport, but rather the life lessons that they get along the way.