Gatewood’s track-and-field season officially opened Wednesday after the team had to cancel a meet last week due to weather.
The Gators won their region championship last season and are looking to repeat, but the Lady Gators came up short and are hoping for a better result in 2024 after not winning the region title in eight years.
Gatewood head coach Jeff Ratliff has high expectations for his boys’ team, which finished second at state last year.
“The boys are continuing to have great workouts. I’m excited to see how we perform on the track. This meet will bring Brentwood, Briarwood, Fullington, and Skipstone to ‘The Swamp’ (at Gatewood). Brentwood and Briarwood are in our region, so they’re no strangers.” Ratliff said.
“They’ll bring some good athletes to compete. Fullington and Skipstone will have a few guys that will be very good as well. Overall, I expect a very competitive meet. We need to have another great week of practice and be ready to compete.”
The Gators have a lot of potential in 2024, with many key athletes returning. Senior Evan Bennett will run the 100-meter dash this season. The North Carolina football signee will participate in the 200-meter race as well.
The 4x400 meter relay team, consisting of Bennett, Blake Callaway, Jackson Hewatt, and Jackson Lundy, won the region championship last season and will look to repeat this season, too.
For Gatewood’s field events, Bennett, along with a few other Gators will compete in the discus and shotput events.
“I am excited to see how those workouts stand up in an actual meet,” Ratliff said last month. “Again, the effort has been there in practice. Now, it is time to perform.”
The Lady Gators came up short in the Region 2-AA meet last year, finishing second behind Brentwood. Still, Ratliff has high aspirations for his female athletes and wants to knock Brentwood off the throne this season.
“Brentwood has won the last three state championships. Briarwood has a tone of talent returning from last year’s team, and Fullington has several athletes that will score,” Ratliff said. “Wednesday’s meet should be fun and competitive, but more importantly, it will be a starting point for us to get where we want to be in late April.”
Natalie Sills returns to run the 100-meter after a runner-up finish in that distance during last year’s region meet. Presley Moss is another Lady Gator to watch after qualifying for state last year in the 100 meters with Sills.
The Gatewood girls had to replace half its 4x100 meter team, which finished second at the region meet last year, but the Lady Gators are in great shape with a few others to assist Sills and Moss returning this season.
In the field, Lanie Nistler will represent Gatewood’s girls in the high jump and long jump events. Kindall Ward returns to help out the Lady Gators in multiple throwing events, with Ellie McMillian a key returnee as well.
Gatewood’s next track meet will be at home on Wednesday, March 20 when the Gators and Lady Gators will host Brentwood Academy, Trinity Christian, and Twiggs Academy, with the meet scheduled to start at 3:30 p.m.