BLANCHARDVILLE — The Vikings return one of the state’s top young hurdlers in sophomore Anna Tisch. Last year as a freshman, Tisch qualified for state in the 300-meter hurdles.

On the girls roster for this season, she’ll be joined by Paige Toay and Siri Thronson, while Ridge Toay, Kaden Hartwig and Nathan Nickels return as letterwinners from 2021.

“We need to get the season going to get an understanding of what we have. Based on attendance to some of our preseason meetings, we look good, but there’s a difference between showing up for the meetings and showing up for practice that we always seem to battle here, so it’s a wait and see approach right now,” said Pecatonica-Argyle coach Jason Klocek. There are a number of newcomers to the squad this year, but it is “unknown at this point” which ones could make the biggest splash on varsity.

“The core group we have returning has top tier talent and will compete for us at the big meets and push far into the post season, but how we fill in from there, we will find out soon enough,” Klocek said. “We have a strong group of upperclassmen and a strong underclassmen in Anna Tisch who know what to expect and help lead the culture we have developed over the years here. This group will be important in bringing what looks to be a strong new group of athletes along quickly.”

Depth will be a challenge for the Vikings, as without a set number of competitors, not all events may be filled.

“Depth is always a question mark for us. Will we have enough to stuff the heat sheets? Only time will tell. We will also need to find a way to stay healthy, we have battled through some aches and pains in the past but we will have to find a way to get through them come May,” Klocek said.

In 2021, the boys finished fourth in conference, while the girls were sixth.

“The conference is strong, a lot of talent across all the teams, which is great to see,” Klocek said.