Photo by Erin Nelson.
Hewitt-Trussville’s Maci Mills makes her way down the final stretch during the Spain Park Class 7A, Section 3 meet in November.
Matthew Michalke takes the reins of the Hewitt-Trussville High School cross-country program at a perfect time.
The team is coming off one of its best seasons ever, with the girls finishing third and the boys placing fourth at the Class 7A state meet last November.
It was the perfect way to cap the full-time coaching careers of David and Anita Dobbs, and Michalke was promoted from the middle school program to take over the high school team. The move was announced in December.
“The familiarity with the program and with the kids has made it a fairly easy transition for all of us,” Michalke said.
"I am very excited that Matthew Michalke has been chosen to take the helm of the Hewitt-Trussville High School cross-country teams,” Dobbs said at the time. “He has done a phenomenal job as head coach at Hewitt-Trussville Middle School and has developed that program into a metro powerhouse. He will bring the energy and enthusiasm he has now to the high school teams."
Tom Esslinger took over the track and field program at Hewitt-Trussville last year, leading the Huskies to a sweep of the indoor boys and girls state titles and a banner season in outdoor as well.
“I’ve learned from the best in Coach Dobbs and now getting to work with Coach Esslinger. With his focus on the track side and my focus on the distance, I think it’s great. We’ve got a good staff and a lot of good assistants,” Michalke said.
As far as this cross-country season is concerned, the girls have high hopes. Six of the top seven from last year’s third-place team return and Michalke feels as if the younger classes will bolster the team in terms of quality depth.
Maci Mills placed 13th at the state meet last fall, clocking a 5K time of 19:57.01. Kylee Sisk finished 18th as well and both runners could lead the team to big things once again this season. Kinley Harris and Avery Cahoon also finished in the top 50 individually. Sisk, Harris and Cahoon are sophomores and Sophia Knox, another top runner on the team, is now a junior.
Mills was selected to run in the AHSAA All-Star event in July in Montgomery and enters her senior season as one of the top runners in the state. She was joined there by Mitchell Phillips of the Huskies boys team.
“Both of them really lead by their performance. Neither one of them is necessarily the most outspoken and that’s not a bad thing,” Michalke said. “They show up and lead by what they’re doing.”
Phillips finished 19th in the state meet last year, with Tristan Teer and Rush Lachina also back from the Huskies’ top seven. After the graduation of a handful of strong runners, Hewitt’s boys are seeking the next set of athletes to step up.
One of those looks to be Wil Edwards, who has impressed over the summer.
“He’s been a great leader, put in a lot of great work and he’s excited to see what a cross-country season is going to look like for him,” Michalke said.
The Huskies will host the Husky Challenge for the 30th time this October. They also compete in Scottsboro, Huntsville, in Oakville at the state meet course twice and at Veterans Park in Hoover.
“The kids are excited to see what we can build on,” Michalke said.
