Dave Schuh still enjoys coaching Bishop Brossart’s girls track team.
“It seems like it’s been a while, that’s for sure,” said Schuh, who begins his 44th season. “Lots of changes and things done different. So yeah, it seems like years and years. It’s still fun; I have a good bunch of kids to work with, so that’s what makes it fun.”
Collecting state Class A titles surely contributes to the merriment. The Lady ‘Stangs are the two-time defending state champion, and last year’s trophy was the eighth since 1997.
“Every year’s different; that’s why they always say it’s harder to defend,” Schuh said. “I can see that this year for sure.”
When Schuh started his coaching career in 1979, Brossart had to practice at what is now Campbell County Middle School. Now, Brossart has an athletic complex, health center and a fieldhouse for indoor work.
“It seems like, in a way, it was easier to get people to do track (in 1979) because there wasn’t as many other sports and things for them to do,” Schuh said. “Now, often, athletes will play one sport all year long and they won’t do anything else.
“Today, things are a lot nicer. It’s always a challenge to get enough runners. I always feel like we should have more than what we have, but I do the best with what we have. Usually, we’re pretty competitive.”
Brossart’s major task this year is replacing two seniors from last year, Claire Curtsinger, who’s a University of Cincinnati freshman, and Emma Bezold.
This year, a sextet of seniors – Amy Klocke, Chloe Hein, Lauren Gooderson, Miranda Csordas, Hayley Hickman and Hannah Kramer – take over as team leaders.
“I feel like track is one of those sports where it’s not just about seniority or anything,” Hein said. “We really come together as a team, and you don’t even realize who’s a senior or freshman or anything.”
Hein won the state long jump last year and finished third in the 100- and 200-meter dashes. (She’s headed for Centre College in Danville next fall.) Understandably, she said long jump is her favorite event.
“I get to socialize and hang out with the girls over there,” Hein said.
Hickman and Kramer joined sophomores Kaitlyn Kramer and Lexi Braun to win the 4×200 relay, and Hickman, Hein and Braun helped the 4×100 relay finish second.
Look for Gooderson to run the 100, 200, and 400 meters. She missed the 2022 season with an injury, but as a sophomore in 2021, she and Hein were part of the state champion 4×200 relay quartet.
“This year, she looks strong and fast,” Schuh said of Gooderson.
Csordas’ 4-feet-8 inch leap in the high jump at the state Class A indoor team title March 5 in Louisville was good for second place. She also finished third in the triple jump (31-10) and eighth in the long jump (13-9.25).
Lexington Christian beat Brossart, 90-75, for the state indoor team title; the Lady ‘Stangs squeaked past Beechwood, who finished third with 71.5 points. Based at least partly on those results, Schuh offered an eight-word outdoor season outlook.
“We’ve got a lot of work to do,” he said.