Not too many years ago the Tigers were fortunate to have 30 athletes on their roster. My, how times have changed.
When practice started Mar. 12, no less than 102 hopefuls reported for duty. Coach Brian Helmstetter said the massive turnout is both a blessing and a curse.
"Only eight to 10 of those are seniors," he said, "so there could be some big surprises coming from some guys I haven't watched compete yet.
"We are excited about the numbers and look at that as a strength and also a challenge each day to work hard and compete for the top spots."
Most of the point scorers from last year's squad--Tyler Grubb, CJ Record, Tyler Beckett, Carl Elmer, John Schimmel, Dillon Pariseau and Zach Wyatt--were lost to graduation last spring but Helmstetter feels the numbers explosion will more than fill the void left by their absence.
Four senior letterwinners do return, including jumper Justin Hett, thrower Joe Ouyang and distance runners Chad Retterath and Trevor Breezley. Junior returnees include meddle distance standout Tyler Lerbakken, sprinter Alex Chadwick and hurdler/pole vaulter Connor Phu.
The sophomore class may well hold the key to the 2012 season with 11 monogram winners returning: sprinters Mason Auge, Jack Erickson and Derek Klotter; middle distance runners Tanner Grubb, Dan Berg, Eric Stoeckman and Mason Gaylord; pole vaulter Reid Taubenheim; jumper Cullen Smith; distance specialist Jake Rudeen and thrower/sprinter CJ Wynings.
Helmstetter took a deep breath and began to reel off all of the new names that could contribute to this year's effort. The list seemed endless (**see below).
"We are all newcomers," Helmstetter said, "so I am expecting our sophomores to start competing for varsity spots and instead of being in the top nine in an event, I expect them to be in the top three.
"A lot of bodies have have changed and gotten longer and stronger. It's been a fun first week of practice watching guys compete and fight to make each other better."
Helmstetter said he doesn't see any one specific area as a strength but on the flip-side doesn't see any major weakness.
"Because we are so young and have so many question marks, it's difficult to know where we will finish," he said, "But our depth is going to help us in every event. Many of our younger athletes don't know their potential yet."
Helmstetter said his early season goal is a top three finish in the always-tough Missota Conference and a top third placing at the Section 1AA meet.
"That's a big jump over last year," he said.
Shakopee and Chanhassen, two veteran and talented teams, figure to be top contenders in the Missota with Rosemount, Lakeville North, Lakeville South and Owatonna the schools to chase in the section race.
Helmstetter will be assisted by a veteran staff, including Lisa Lippold, Joe McCarthy, Julian Buss, Justyn Helgeson and Maggie Endersbe.
The Tigers have already had an indoor scrimmage and are scheduled for another at the University of St. Thomas on Wednesday. The regular season begins Tuesday, Apr. 3, when they host Shakopee at Tiger Field.
For the second straight season Farmington will host the Missota Conference Championships scheduled for May 24.
**Other Tiger hopefuls:
Seniors
Tanner Renken - Jumps
Albert Obnamia - pole vault
Trevor Breezley - distance
Aaron Bendix - throws
Brett Hoffman - throws
Juniors
Athen Ashton - sprints and jumps
Josh Baker - mid distance
Evan Carufel - mid distance and pole vault
Jeremiah Bostrom - sprints
Nick Lach - sprints
Aaron lane - pole vault
Alex Lubbers - mid distance
Mikkel Peterson - hurdles/mid distance/jumps
Clayton Webb - mid
Blake Ross - sprints
Tommy Weigel - sprints
Alec Wilson - distance
Sam Wyatt - Jumps
Helbert Zelaya - jumps
Sophomores
Jeff Gutierrez - distance
Jake Lee - throws/sprints
Hunter Meyers - distance
Jared Wolt - distance
Josh Patterson - throws
Nick Ruark - hurdles
Blake Smith - sprints
Freshmen
Justin Hyytinen - distance
Matt Olund - sprints
Panayoitis Kontinakis - sprints
