The Creighton Prep track and field team sits just two years removed from their last state title in 2023. This year’s team looks much different from that squad, but the expectation of getting back on top remains the same.

Heading into last season, much of the talent on the team graduated, particularly from their sprints team. The team was able to find replacements for its sprinters from last year with state qualifiers, in senior Jackson Wurgler and juniors Silas Bush and Kris Baker among others.

This season, they will have to find replacements for their top distance runners from last season. Ten of the top distance runners from last year’s team, including Denny Chapman and Jacob Finney, graduated last spring. 

“We have a nice core group of about 8-12 guys,” Tietjen said, “We’ve got a lot of juniors and sophomores, a couple of seniors, but that’s alright, we’ll keep building on it.”

A big part of this team is their youth. Over 50 of the 140 members of the team this year are freshmen, and many sophomores and juniors will step into bigger roles in the upcoming season. 

Despite the impact of those young guys, the strength of the team lies in their state returning upperclassmen from last season. Wurgler, Bush, and Baker headline the sprinters, while Baker and Vinny Sall return as state qualifiers in the long jump and relays. Senior Max DePooter returns as a thrower, and Carson Verzal and Ethan Laux return as hurdlers.

The varsity track and field squad starts their season off on Friday with an indoor meet at an indoor meet at the College of St. Mary’s. 

“At the beginning of the year you’re trying to see how the pieces all come together and where to put guys and so forth,” Tietjen said, “Maybe some guys will surprise you, maybe some guys have grown and got bigger and stronger and a little better on the track than they were the year before.” 

Another change stands out heading into the upcoming Creighton Prep track and field season: the surface that the team will practice on.

The new track, a $6 million dollar project in progress since midway through last year, is set to have its grand opening on April 6.

The track team has gotten to practice on the new track, a significant upgrade from the dirt track that they’ve run on for years. 

“It’s been a little slow getting out [due to multiple blizzards since the start of the season] but when we’ve been out there it’s been awesome,” head coach Dan Tietjen said.