Despite not having a track, team is growing and excelling

There’s not a team that does more with less than the Castleton Track and Field team, as the absence of a track seems to do little to hinder the team’s ability.

This year marks the 9th year of the Castleton track and field program, and Ian Sawtelle has been there since nearly the beginning. 

Sawtelle had been the assistant coach at Castleton for six years and was recently promoted to head coach, making this his seventh year here at Castleton. He’s seen the program change since he and previous head coach Jay Condon had taken over the program back in 2018. 

Now, instead of only having two coaches, each event group has their own coach, giving them the specialization and coaching they need. 

“I love coaching. I don’t think there’s been a time in history that good coaching has been needed more than it is now,”  he said.

The coaches’ office has a cozy charm, filled with memorabilia from current and former athletes, such as a plastic princess crown with a printed image of Coach Sawtelle taped on. 

“We really pride ourselves on making people change who they are as people, gaining that independence that a lot of this generation doesn’t have, gaining that grit in life to overcome obstacles,” Sawtelle said. 

Sawtelle, who is the head coach as well as the throwers coach, dedicates his time between his new job as an investigator with the department of liquor and lottery, his home life, and being a track coach. It’s a difficult balance, but one both he and Coach Mike Audette have nearly perfected. 

Audette is the long distance coach of the track team, as well as the head coach of the cross country team. He had briefly taken up the role of head coach last season, however due to his new position as the principal of MSJ, his busy schedule got even busier so Sawtelle took up the position. 

David Harvey was a previous athlete who broke numerous school records and is now the jumps coach. 

The team also gained a brand new sprints coach, as former coach Austin Beaugard left. Replacing him is Caleb Lisai, who comes from a football background. 

Sitting in the small coach’s office, Sawtelle paused for a moment, choosing his words carefully. 

“I have a goal in mind of what I want this program to look like before I’m done,” he said. 

He went on to explain that means consistent numbers, improved performance, and more qualifications in the LECs as well as New Englands. Last year, the team saw many successes with athletes such as Kalynn Stevenson, Taylor Ross, Carter Mackey and Harrison “Harry” Leombruno-Nicholson, all top-three finishers. 

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This year’s team, which faced the loss of several key players including Leombruno-Nicholson, who was the national qualifier in javelin for the team, seems to have an open position for a team leader.

“The person Harry was, the teammate he was, we’re not going to be able to find that replacement anytime soon,” Sawtelle said. 

Leombruno-Nicholson, whose record throw of 60.45 meters (or 198 feet) got him qualified for both New Englands and Nationals, was a key player on the track team. 

“Everybody loves Harry right, and he was a big leader. Everyone listened to Harry, so it kinda opens up a leadership spot as a thrower,” said Sidiki Sylla, a second-year shot put thrower. 

“It’s hard to replace a national qualifier,” Audette in agreement.  

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Sitting in a computer lab were Kalynn Stevenson and Katelyn Yerdon, throwers and friends on the track team. It was late so there was nobody there, which was a good thing, as cackling could be heard. 

“I was gonna go to Plattsburgh,” said Stevenson when talking about why she chose to attend Castleton and join the track team. 

“I was like really not wanting to come here at all” she said, clasping her hands together. “I was really going down to it. I was like, Coach Ian, he gave me the attention I needed y’know, without the constant messaging and stuff. I was like you know what, he actually cares.” 

Others agreed it was the recruiting ability of the coaches that initially drew them to the team. Yerdon said Sawtelle’s recruiting was top notch. Stevenson had also said that she had joined the team due to his recruiting. His tactics for recruiting have also evolved. Now Sawtelle posts photos and videos of the team on Instagram, to help reach more athletes and gain attention. 

Yerdon and Stevenson had been recruited the year prior without all the social media posting, and it seems as though this year had gone well for recruiting as well, but it’s not without its difficulties. 

Track and Field is a different sport and is defined by the NCAA as a non-traditional sport. It’s also the only college sport at Castleton that has to recruit both men and women and it’s not just separated by gender, but by event as well. These factors, as well as the absence of a track, contribute to the difficulty of recruiting. 

However, despite these hardships, the coaches still reach out to hundreds of athletes and successfully recruit a plethora of them. 

“This year we have a team high ever, I think of like 45 or something like that. Trying to get 70 next and try and make it like look, we need a track,” Sylla said. 

“We still doubled our team,” Yerdon added.

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The absence of a track at Castleton often poses problems for the athletes to practice. 

“There’s only so much we can do in our gym,” Sawtelle said. “Facilities absolutely do hamper us on our ability.” 

The team usually practices within Shape gym, sharing the gym with other teams like wrestling and baseball. Senior member of the team and long distance runner Jon Hendley said that it’s unfortunate that they have to train in the gym. The runners especially have more difficulty with the absence of a track. The team, more specifically the sprinters, jumpers, and javelin throwers must travel to Fair Haven High School to use their outdoor track facilities. While Castleton does have throw circles for the throwers, they are not maintained and the cage around the hammer circle is definitely not up to standard. 

“More people would know about the program,” said Stevenson about having a track. 

“Having a track or hosting a meet could bring in a lot of money for the school,” Yerdon said. 

“I don’t think there is a program in the Little East that does more with less than we do,” Sawtelle said when asked if he believes the absence of a track affects the team’s performance. 

“I think it’s all about how we have success even without that,” Audette said. “You can still be very successful here, without having a facility on campus.”