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Spring teams practicing in fair weather

By Matt Friedrichs - | Mar 8, 2000

Monday afternoon, under sunny skies, Tonganoxie spring sports teams practiced.

It was the first day of track practice. Baseball and softball began practicing last week.

At 72 degrees, the weather couldn’t have been any better for a March afternoon.

A stiff breeze carried the sounds of shoes slapping against the track around Beatty Field.

On the ball fields next to the fairgrounds the sounds of batters swatting balls and the crack of a baseball or softball against a leather glove punctuated the afternoon air.

Track
Phil Williams coaches the boys track team. Williams also coaches the Tonganoxie cross country team in the fall.

Bill Shaw coaches the girls track team.

There were 47 boys at practice Monday. Williams stressed the importance of stretching and covered some team rules after the boys had run laps.

The first track meet is the Baldwin Invitational on March 31. The Tonganoxie Invitational will be May 2. Tonganoxie will also be the host of the regional track meet on May 19.

Baseball
Chris Herron is the baseball coach. The baseball team opens play March 28 at home against Gardner-Edgerton.

The 33 players cycled through fielding, conditioning, bunting and hitting drills for a portion of practice.

Herron and Andy Gilner, assistant baseball coach, then graded each player’s ability to hit off the pitching machine.

Softball
Mark Mall coaches the softball team. The softball team opens March 28 at Gardner-Edgerton.

Mall and Leslie Foster, assistant softball coach, had 28 players running through a variety of hitting and fielding drills Monday afternoon.