By Becky Walz,

There may be a small squad on the oval this spring for the Turkey Valley boys track and field team, but the talent and experience is there too, with its 13 members.
Of those 13, five return with state experience for the 2023 season and the future looks bright.
Leading the team is head coach Mark Scott, who has been with the Trojans for 25 seasons.
High hopes
The Trojans were full of letter winners last year, with 13 athletes back with experience.
They continued to improve all season, with the pieces coming together in May. The journey to state started with the Upper Iowa Conference Meet. The Trojans came in fifth with 87 points with five relays garnering a gold — the sprint medley, 4×800, distance medley, 4×200 and 4×400.
Three of those relays made noise again at the state-qualifier and earned the chance to compete at Drake Stadium. At the state meet the 4×400 relay team of Chase Hayek, Ryan Franzen, Noah Hanson and Dylan Reicks raced their way into the finals and finished seventh in 3:35.05. The 4×800 relay combined for a time of 8:36.85, good for 13th at state. Members of that relay were Russell Nieman, Franzen, Hanson and Reicks. Joining forces at state in the distance medley relay were Hayek, Marcus Herold, Reicks and Hanson. The quartet crossed the finish line in 3:45.32, good for 16th place.
Graduating off the 2022 squad were Marcus Herold and Dylan Reicks.
Diverse squad
Seven upperclassmen will lead the way for the Trojans including seniors Noah Hanson, Troy Schmitt, Chase Hayek and Ryan Franzen, along with juniors Russell Nieman, Oliver Schmitt and Burke Busta.
They will be joined by a host of freshmen including Logan Busta, JD Kruse, John Forbes, Darian Keyes, Miquel Diaz and Tucker Reicks.
“We have some returning state qualifying team relay team members and an experienced distance runner,” said Coach Scott. “Hopefully our freshmen will step up to contribute later in the season.”
The veteran skipper says because of the short number of Trojans competing, the depth in hurdle and field and events is a definite weakness.
When it comes to the Upper Iowa Conference, Coach Scott believes North Fayette Valley or South Winn could be on top of the league.
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