Photo by Jake Olson: Front Row: Christen Dryer, Jon Loeschen, Layla Johnson, Ainsley Gronewald, Lynsie Salic, Cecelia Nowicki, Ella Feltman, Emily Braaten, Savannah Miller, Korla Larsen, Kyla Benck, Maddie Thompson, Haddie Sheplee: Middle Row: Levi Lewis, Trista Boesch, Vienna Thomas, Skyla Larsen, Maddie Schulenburg: Back Row: Bradyn Becker, Rylan Rodgers, Vaughn Thompson, Brock Steinbrink, Jacob Mattson, Brahm Sill, Rex James, Aiden Stith: Not Pictured: Aiden Lightfoot, Bowan Sill, Cash Becker, Jaxson Bellecourt, Urijiah Bolton, Chevelle Lorentz, Kayla Mattson, Kyana Thomas, Londyn Bowers, Lucy Bowers, Madison Sokoloski, Sophie Becker

TRUMAN – It was a season of firsts for the Granada Huntley East Chain/Truman/Martin Luther boys’ and girls’ track and field programs.

Outside of bringing in head coach Alex Roorda to man the helm, it was the first season GHEC/T/ML would split off from Madelia, replacing the Jayhawk logo with a familiar purple-and-white Jaguar.

“It was our first time, so we weren’t quite sure what to expect,” Roorda said.

What happened was a strong start for a “new” program in southern Minnesota. GHEC/T/ML had over 30 kids out for the team last season, some of whom were trying the sport out for the first time.

“Last year, when we were the Jags with the three schools, we got to have a little more ownership with getting new uniforms,” Roorda said. “It was a good time.”

Outside of losing a handful of seniors, including Southwest Minnesota State University football player Jackson Madsen, Roorda is pleased to bring back a slew of impactful underclassmen to carry the load into year two. Three of which qualified for last year’s Section 2A Championships.

Londyn Bowers gives the Jaguars a threat in short-distance races of 100 and 200 meters. She won both events in the 2025 Section 2A – South Sub-Section meet, placing third and fourth in sections the following week. She also competed in both short-distance relay runs and the high jump.

“Londyn is going to be a senior this year, so hopefully she does really well again in sub-sections and sections, specifically. She did really well in our [last] conference meet as well,” Roorda said.

Lynsie Salic and Aiden Stith qualified in the field events, with discus and high jump, respectively.

Salic placed third in three events last season including the Tomahawk Valley Conference Championship. She also had great success in shot put that season after notching a handful of impressive marks in her 10 meets. Salic’s personal best of 31′ 1″ came at the SJM Invitational on April 8.

“She’s coming back bigger and stronger than last year, which is good,” Roorda said of Salic. “And with another year of experience under her belt, she is fully committed to our throwing program.”

Stith was jumping at his peak during the final four meets of the season. He had four top-seven finishes in that stretch that included a personal best score of 5′ 8″ in the Section 2A Championship. He also placed fifth in the BUC 6 with a mark of 5′ 2″. The 100- and 200-meter runs were among the other events Stith competed in.

“He’s set his bar high,” Roorda said. “He wants to set the school record, so he has his eye on the prize.”

The rest of the team is filled with a significant amount of underclassmen who are looking to build off their early varsity careers from the year prior. Roorda believes that their time thrust into the fire will not only benefit the athletes now, but also the program for the foreseeable future.

“That’s what we talked about as a coaching staff, we just want to build up those kids right now, and hopefully we have a really strong program in the next two to three years,” Roorda said.