Rebuilding Lanes: Track Welcomes New Faces
By CAILIN FAILING
The Tower
Rebuilding is not easy. After losing lots of seniors last year including their jump coach, Manteca High’s track team is now beginning a new chapter this season. With many top athletes graduating, coach Lyons now faces the challenge of rebuilding a team and helping younger athletes' step into bigger roles.
“We really are restarting in terms of having a big group, taking kind of all comers and trying to see who we could develop,” said coach Lyons.
As he works to redefine the team’s identity, Lyons is focused on growth, consistency, and creating leaders who can carry the program forward.
Although the season may look different this year. Coach Lyons says a few athletes have already begun to stand out to him.
“On my sprint crew there’s Quinn Martinez, he’s the only remaining sprinter from our school record… he’s basically the Juju.” “Next in line we have Mateo, and he kind of fills the shoes for JRock... it's early in the season and I can tell that they understand the roles there trying to fill,” Coach Lyons said
It may be weird looking at the track and not seeing some of the “big names” from last years team, which rolled to the school’s first-ever Sac-Joaquin Section championship. Julian Moncada, Joseph Habibi, Tyler Watkins, and Jayden Scarver were a huge part of the team and now they have moved on to the next level. Most still doing track for Modesto Junior College.
Moncada, Scarver, and Habibi anchored the Buffaloes’ sprint group, while Watkins emerged as one of the section’s top jumpers in his first and only season of high school track.
While it may be a rebuilding year, Lyons, ever the optimist, believes the team has what it takes to grow and compete. They’ll just need to find a new cast of stars, beginning with Quinn Martinez, a top-talent in the 100-meter dash, and Mateo Esparza, one of the school’s most versatile athletes.
For Lyons, the trick will be surrounding Martinez and Esparza with the right group.
After losing seniors like Joey Habibi and Julian Moncada, Lyons has had to step up in a whole new way this season. Losing players who were like second coaches on the track, “We lost a bunch of relay veterans, kids that were good at being like a secondary team coach. And obviously those are kids that have has like 4 years of development,” said Lyons.
Lyons stepping in to be more of a teacher along with being a coach. Spending more time explaining drills and making sure everyone understands what they are doing.
On top of having to rebuild the jumping team, the teams Jumping coach recently retiring, Lyons has had to also take in on that position. It is more responsibly but he’s stepping up and doing whatever he can to make sure the team keeps improving this season.
“Jumpers is probably one of our biggest ones because our jumps coach decided to retire. Like rebuilding from an athlete's point of view but were also rebuilding from a coach's point of view. I have jumped experience and stuff myself, but I’m trying to make sure I'm good at coaching jumps the same way I have an understanding of sprints, relays, and hurdles. It’s been a challenge, but I know that the kids as long as they stick to them and they try they will be successful.” Said Lyons