The Whitehall boys enter the 2021 track and field season with a lot of potential and promise.

They also enter the spring season with a lot of athletes which will enhance head coach Tyler Miller’s options to find who’s more suited to a particular event given their depth.

While they’re enjoying big numbers this season, a big plus when it comes to their dual meet schedule, it will also help raise their ability to get more athletes into the postseason.

Entering this year, the Zephs will have a number of strong candidates who will make a vigorous push to qualify for district competition, including senior Niko Nomura (sprints, sprint relay), and juniors Brenden Sargent (middle distance, distance) and Nicholas Souders (javelin and discus).

Miller said that they all have the potential to extend their seasons, and he’s hopeful they’ll be able to achieve those goals along with a number of their fellow teammates.

“It would be nice to see them get a spot,” said Miller.

In the sprints, the Zephs will feature the aforementioned Niko Nomura, along with senior Angelo Dadonna, junior Dan Sullivan, sophomores Vinson Eggleston, Zachary Onsinyo, Cory Wilson, and freshman Ian Thomas and Israel White.

Miller said that the middle distance races will be the domain of every member of the team. While he said that in jest, the numbers practically bear that out as they’ll have a plethora of student-athletes for those events.

They include seniors Jacob Busch, Peter Busch, Jakob Schlosser, Lennon Saylor and Jeffrey Warren; juniors Shawn Woodring, Sean Connolly, Ethan Kleppinger and Sargent; sophomores Grant Dieter, Blake Gill, Jacob Kralick, Kenny Dai, Christian Foehrkolb, Chad Kies, Cale Sodl, and Eggleston, along with freshman Gabriel O’Brien.

The distance races will see Sargent, Saylor, Jakob Schlosser, Gill, O’Brien, Sodl, Foehrkolb, sophomore Matthew Caley and freshman Joshua Schlosser.

Miller said that most of the competitors in the middle and distance races will be interchangeable, and he’s hopeful a strong group will emerge from that group.

The hurdles will feature seniors Christian Dieter, Andy Magarin, Julio Maldonado, Jacob and Peter Busch, juniors Dario Nomura, Kyle Platton, Sargent, Gill, Platton and Sullivan, as well as freshmen Dalton Wickel and Thomas.

Miller said that Magarin will concentrate on the high jump along with Maldonado, Platton, Gill and Sullivan.

In the pole vault. the Zephs hope to soar with senior Javier Jaramillo and sophomores Ethan Kies and Gregory Sommer.

The throwers are another large group that features Dadonna, Grant Dieter, Souders, Chad Kies, juniors Aiden Tacker and Tristen Tauber, and sophomore Scott Woodring.

They’ll also feature senior Zachary Beblavy, junior Joshua Prince, sophomores Bradley Erie, Austin Hedrick, Aidan Henry, Alex Ovalle and Corday Reed.

Miller is excited to get back onto the track with the team, but the postponement of their opening meet versus Parkland only emphasized how tricky that prospect can be. They’re now slated to open April 12 against William Allen.

He’s looking forward to a season full of talented student-athletes on both the boys and girls squads, and is eager to see what will develop among this group.