Creighton Prep track is set up to have another great season. With about 120 students participating this year, and 13 teachers and volunteers help coaching, the excitement level for the sport is clearly high.

With a strong core group from last year, including hurlers, a great 4×100 group, sprinters and distance runners, Prep has talent coming back and coming in.
Head coach Dan Tietjen knows what to do to improve the team, and is ready to push them to reach their potential. According to Tietjen, the area that needs the most work are the field events.

“I think our field is something we are going to have to get better at this season, that’s somewhere we are going to have to see improvements,” said Tietjen.

The team also has a strong group of experienced seniors to lead the group. The seniors help the younger and inexperienced athletes get into the sport, and help motivate them.

“The seniors don’t look at practice like work or a job, but they like they actually want to come out,” said Tietjen.

One of the things the coaches do to help unify the team is handing out awards as a team. That way, the younger athletes get to see older athletes, and vice-versa. The team also meets together daily.

The track team having 120 athletes can pose a challenge for coaches to manage. That is why the team is lucky to have so many coaches. It has made it considerably easier to divide up individual events and activities, instead of combined everything. The coaching staff has also grown these past years, from having about six or seven coaches, to this season with 13.

With a large staff and a huge team, this season has the potential to be a great one. Last year, about 18 students went to state, and the goal for the team is to improve that number this year.

“I like watching guys improve to get better, I like watching guys compete, and I like watching guys do the right thing,” said Tietjen. “We have guys who do their business, take care of work, compete hard, and let everything else kinda take care of itself.”