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MANISTIQUE -- The Manistique girls are building for the future as they enter this track and field season.
Manistique, which opens indoors at Lake Superior State University today at 2, has 25 on its roster.
"Our numbers are up," said coach Amy Nixon. "We're happy with our turnout. We have nine returners and the rest of the girls are new. We have no seniors. This will be a learning experience, but It will be exciting to get everybody back for another year and have a new freshman class coming in."
Among the returners are their top four point-getters from last season.
They include sophomore Danielle Lund in the weight events and sprint relays and juniors Sarah McDaniel (distance and middle distance), Kelsey Muth (sprints and mid distances) and Ava Hinkson (distances).
Also returning are juniors Clara Gilroy (mid distances) and Annabel Burnham (weight events) and sophomores Emma Jones and Skye Rice (sprints and mid distances), Tammy Nadeau (sprints and long jump) and Skylar Semesky (long jump), who's pulling double duty with softball.
"We'll rely on our returning juniors a lot for leadership," said Nixon. "They're leading by example and teaching the other girls about the importance of being accountable."
Junior newcomers are sprinters Maddie Robinson and Jaelyn Pierce and first-year sophomores include Linnea Way (high jump and mid distances) and Jade Rahn (hurdles and pole vault).
The Emeralds also have several promising freshmen, including Leah Goudreau (sprints and mid distances).
"Leah is a pretty strong runner and I think we can count on Danielle this season and the next few," said Nixon. "It's a matter of finding their strengths and where they can help us be successful. I think we'll be strong in the distances, middle distances and throwing events."
Nixon says today's meet will be a new experience for the Emeralds. Also new on their schedule are the Ram Scram at Harbor Springs (April 15) and Mancelona Invitational (April 22).
"There's going to be some good schools in the first meet," she added. "We've never competed with the downstate schools before. We don't know what they're bringing to the table. This will give us a chance to see where we're at."
Manistique's home opener is its Kiwanis Invitational April 29. It will also host the Emerald Invitational May 7.
Nixon points to Negaunee as the team to beat in the Mid-Peninsula Conference.
"They're always strong," she said. "They'll probably be our strongest competition."
The schedule:
April 8 -- Sault Ste. Marie Indoor Invitational (LSSU); April 15 -- Harbor Springs Ram Scram; April 22 -- Mancelona Invitational; April 29 -- Manistique Kiwanis Invitational.
May 5 -- St. Ignace Invitational; May 7 -- Manistique Emerald Invitational; May 13 -- Munising Invitational; May 17 -- Newberry Invitational; May 20 -- D-2 regional at Gwinn; May 23 -- M-PC meet at Ishpeming; May 26 -- at Munising
June 4 -- U.P. Finals at Kingsford.