Hampton-Dumont-CAL Girls Track and Field Season Preview

The Hampton-Dumont-CAL girls track and field season is underway, and the Bulldogs will be led by first-year head coach Brittany Stevens. Coach Stevens takes over for Nicole Donnenworth and discussed the direction she wants the program to go.

"As I step into this role, I want our girls' track and field program to be built on consistency, accountability and growth," Stevens said. "My goal is to create a culture where athletes show up every day ready to compete, improve and support one another. We're going to emphasize doing the little things right, whether that's effort in practice, attention to technique, or how we carry ourselves as a team."

Last season, the Bulldogs placed inside the top five in three of their 10 outdoor track meets, with their highest placing being fourth in the Roland-Stor Coed Track Meet and the GHV Don Hoppel Coed Relays. The Bulldogs sent two girls to the state track meet, as Charlee Morton won her third straight state championship and set a state record in the shot put throw, while Lily Hambly qualified in the 400 meter hurdles. Both Hambly and Morton were seniors and will not be returning to the Bulldogs, leaving big shoes to fill. Coach Stevens discussed the challenge of replacing those two.

"There is no question, replacing girls like Charlee and Lily is going to be incredibly difficult," she said. "They brought leadership, experience and high-level performance that you simply don't replicate with one or two people. Instead, we're looking for that leadership to be spread across the team. The exciting part is that we do return a strong group of athletes who now have an opportunity to step into bigger roles."

The Bulldogs have already competed in an indoor track meet this season, as they placed 14th out of 17 teams with a team score of 15 in the Wartburg High School Invitational on Tuesday, March 17. The Bulldogs had two girls earn medals, as sophomore MacKenzy Valley placed third in the girls 3000 meter race with a time of 12 minutes, 20.9 seconds and junior Madison Heilskov placed fourth in the girls 200 meter race with a time of 28.56 seconds. The Bulldogs will compete in one more indoor meet, the North Iowa Indoor Championships, on Friday, March 27 at 4 p.m. The Bulldogs' first outdoor track meet of the season is the Roland-Story Coed Track Meet at Roland-Story High School on Thursday, April 2 at 4 p.m.