The Royal track and field coaches are as much a team as the runners, jumpers and other athletes they train, each coach taking their responsibility seriously as they prepare the studentathletes for events every week.

For their hard work and dedication, good results are abundantly evident this season.

Carin Sommer, in her seventh year of coaching at Royal and fifth year as head coach in charge of girls' and boys' sprinters, leads the other coaches. She is especially enthusiastic these days about the spirit and commitment of the Highlander teams.

The coaching staff is responsible for expressing positive attitudes and getting the athletes to perform their best, Sommer said.

"The sprinting team this year has done a great job," she said.

The sprinters and the distance

rew are working together really well."

In addition to Sommer, the

rack and field teams are coached by Jay Sramek, in his fifth season t Royal as the girls' full-time oach. He's also one of the cross ountry coaches.

The two other track and field

oaches are Ryan Luce, full-time

oach of the boys' distance runners in his seventh year, and Wesley Burks, in his first full-time year after being part-time last year. Burks coaches the Royal umpers.

What's important now for the

eam is the big meets that lie ahead. After meeting the Westlake Wariors and the Agoura Chargers yeserday, the next big meet will be

he Ventura County Champion

hips next Friday at 2 p.m. at Moorpark High.

This will be followed by the Marmonte League prelims on May 2 at 3 p.m., also on the Moorpark High track, and the CIF-SS prelims May 13 and the finals May 20.

The track and field season will close out with the Masters meet on May 26 and the State Meet on June 2 and 3.

Sommer said senior Curtis Marsh not only jumps, but he's also one of the team's best sprinters, solid in the 100, 200 and 4 x 100 team.

Marsh is the third-ranked long jumper in Ventura County at 22feet 10 3/4 inches and is the defending league champion.

Marsh, who will attend the Naval Academy this fall on a football scholarship, ranks eighth in the 200 meters (22.93).

At the Arcadia Invitational two weeks ago, Marsh won the seeded division. This earned a trip to the

high school invitational on the same night. Marsh went on to finish fifth in that competition.

"That's a big deal," Sommer said. "He actually jumped 12 times that day. That's a lot of energy."

Sophomore Phil Burks is ranked third in the 400 meters with a 51.63, sixth in the triple jump at 43-2 1/2 inches and 13th in the long jump, 20-9 1/4 inches.

Burks won the triple jump in the high school division of the Mt. SAC Relays at Walnut a week ago.

Wesley Burks said Marsh and Burks continue to score valuable points for the Highlanders.

"At Royal, we haven't had a long history of a lot of points in the jumping events," the coach said. "The last couple of years we've really progressed in that area. It's taken hard work and dedication."

Sramek said the coaches are happy with the younger athletes. There are also several upper-division athletes making a positive impression, he said.

"We have some senior and junior leadership," Sramek said. "Senior Kathy Saunders is one competitor who definitely leads the way. Another is senior Nicole Blood, who transferred over from Saratoga Springs, NY.

"Now that (Blood's) feeling a part of the team, everyone looks up to her. She's a jump-start for the team," Sramek said.

Among the veterans is senior Kelcie Wiemann, in her fourth season in the program.

Sramek said Wiemann and sophomore Sabrina Conway, both of whom participate in field events and sprints, have been strong performers this season.

"They have really come along," he said. "They're kind of like the guiding light for the younger athletes. We're real pleased with them."

Luce said Royal has a top boys' team of distance runners with nationally-ranked times. The runners are junior Hudson Andrews, senior Jason Peterson, junior Michael Cybulski and senior Kevin Sullivan.

The coach said at the Arcadia Invitational two weeks ago, their times for running the 4 x mile were Pedersen (4.26) Andrews (4.19), Sullivan (4.20) and Cybulski (4.13), for a combined total of 17:19.23.

"Our team broke our record, a nationally-ranked time right now. They've just done a beautiful job," Luce said. "Michael Cybulski has done well even though he's injured."

For the distance medley relay, Royal has the same group, plus senior Tyler Newmann, a sprinter who was a distance runner during the cross country season.

At Mt. SAC in the distance medley relay, their times, according to the coach, were Sullivan (3.07), Newmann (50.8), Andrews (1.55) and Cybulski (4.14), for a combined 10.08.65.

"We have two new guys who are just coming down the pipeline and are really going to do well," Luce said. "Sophomore Alex Routh, who was on the B team for the mile and ran a stunning 4:33, ran 4:31 for the 1,600."

The coach added that junior Jun Reichl is coming along as well. Reichl's a 4:26 miler, and ran 4.24 in the 1,600 meters.

"He's done a really nice job, too," Luce said. "These are the rising stars."

Another top 20 performer is junior Daniel Sage, who has gone 20-2 1/2 inches in the long jump and 40-6 in the triple jump.

Senior Kathy Saunders ranks eighth in the county in the triple jump with 31-10 1/2 inches and has jumped 15-4 in the long jump.

Sophomore Sabrina Conway ranks eighth in the county in the long jump with a jump of 15-10 1/2 inches.

Celeste Sage is the topranked freshman triple jumper in the county and 16th overall with a jump of 31-4 1/4 inches. She has also long jumped 14-7 1/2 inches.

Sommers said the talent is one aspect of Royal's success. Working as a unit with one goal in mind is another, she said.

"We have good team leadership," Sommers said. "The seniors have been doing a good job in leading the team. Cody Uebelhardt has been doing a good job in leading and inspiring kids to work hard."