West Fork Boys Track and Field Season Preview

The 2026 West Fork boys track and field season is just around the corner and the Warhawks will look to build on the success they had last season. The Warhawks finished in the top five in five of their 10 outdoor meets last season and qualified one athlete for state. Xavier Haller qualified for state as a senior in the high jump last year and was part of a group of seniors who were a big part of the team's success last season. Warhawks head coach Caleb Hovenga discussed the challenges of replacing those seniors.

"I definitely can't understate the leadership from our seniors last year, especially Trevor Despenas and Xavier Haller," Hovenga said. "Both of them were one and two in point scorers for our team last year, even with Trevor getting hurt so early in the season. They leave a whole as far as leadership and who is going to step up into their role and score points for us. Some seniors this year I am looking at this year to step up and be those leaders are Rylan Dorenkamp, who trained with Trevor a lot last year, and Dax Suntken, who was somebody who was a big point scorer for us last year. Both of their goals are pretty high this year."

Coach Hovenga also spoke on what he expects from the underclassmen and athletes who will be stepping into big roles for the first time this season.

"I think that is what is going to be the biggest challenge this year," he said. "We have about 28 or 29 kids on the roster, and about one-third of them are freshman. This will probably be the most well-rounded group of freshman I have had in a long time. Not just in numbers but in pure athletic ability. I would like to see them push themselves but also push the upperclassmen."

With a lot of new faces, the Warhawks will look to improve as the year goes on and hopefully qualify multiple athletes for state. The Warhawks' first outdoor meet of the season is on Tuesday, March 21 at Saint Ansgar High School at 4:30 p.m.