team members FOR THE south hamilton BOYS track team are, front row, (left to right), Clark Streight, Titus Herrick; Second Row: Kaden Dean, Hayden Hill, Davien Henderson, Jesus Garcia; Third Row: Kyler Ziesman, Ethan Christensen, Wyatt Gelder, Jacob Lutjen, Ben Swenson; Fourth Row: Kaden Greenlee, Owen Ealy, Sterling Dietzel, Evan Gibson, Jordan Jones; Back Row: Miguel Martinez, Elijah Pergande. (DFJ Photo by Angela Hewitt)

Kyle Galetich is taking things one day at a time with his South Hamilton boys track squad in 2026.

He is encouraging his athletes to follow the same mental path.

The fourth-year head coach knows his Hawks will only be able to put so many points on the scoreboard with just two seniors and four juniors on the roster. Galetich doesn’t want his team to focus as much on what rival schools are doing; he’d rather keep the focus in his own camp.

“We’ve been telling them since day one that it’s all about gradual improvement,” Galetich said. “We’re very young obviously, so we have to concentrate more on becoming a better version of ourselves than worrying about anything else. Asking underclassmen to (fill a varsity lineup) is a lot in track.

“I do think eventually this group has a chance to develop into a very competitive (squad). But we can’t really project anything or set expectations until we are able to establish a baseline (through real meets).”

Titus Herrick, a thrower, is the lone senior back with varsity time under his belt. Newcomer Clark Streight is the other senior.

Kaden Dean, Jesus Garcia, Davien Henderson and Hayden Hill are the only juniors returning.

The rest of the scorecard will be filled with sophomores and freshmen. The roster is rounded out by sophomores Wyatt Gelder, Ben Swenson, Elijah Pergande and Kyler Ziesman, as well as freshmen Miguel Martinez, Kaden Greenlee, Owen Ealy, Sterling Dietzel, Evan Gibson, Jordan Jones, Ethan Christensen, Jacob Lutjen, Hayden Jones and Kash Northrop.

“We’re going to work hard, but we want the kids to still have fun throughout the process,” Galetich said. “Track is a hard sport if you can’t enjoy it. I’m really excited for the future with these athletes…I have a lot of confidence in them. Short term, we just want to get better every single day. Long term, we’d like to potentially devleop some state qualifiers out of this mix.”

The Hawks open their season on Thursday at Ballard. South Hamilton is at home on April 9, and its Hawk Relays are on April 23.