GUILDERLAND — The three captains of the Guilderland track-and-field team sat in their coach’s office with a look of anxiety.

Three highly competitive and talented athletes have been confined. They haven’t been able to show what they can do on the track and in the jumping pits. Weather has messed with their season and left seniors Brian Rhodes-Devey, Mark Domaracki, and Jarrell Gatterson itching to compete.
"It’s been a tough start to the season," Rhodes-Devey said on Friday. "It’s made it real interesting. We have a lot of new kids that don’t have a lot of experience. Their first meet is a big invitational tomorrow. It’s a real difficult start to the season."
"Really, it is the first time a lot of the guys have come out," Domaracki said. "We can’t do as much and it is harder when the weather is cold. Getting in shape is tougher."

The Dutch have had their first couple of dual meets cancelled, but they did compete at the Cornwall Invitational on Saturday. "We are looking at having four meets in eight days," Rhodes-Devey said. "It’s a rough start to the season. We just have to deal with it."
"It hard for the jumping events and the hurdles as far as finding the time to practice inside," Gatterson said. "We are running the halls and getting a sprinter’s workout. But it has been harder to work on techniques."
"We are just trying to make the best of a bad situation," Rhodes-Devey added.

Monday’s scheduled dual meet with Shaker at Niskayuna was also cancelled.

But the weather is playing havoc with all the track teams in the area.
"From March 5 to April 13, it’s been five weeks since we’ve been practicing," said Guilderland Head Coach Pete Wachtel. "We haven’t had a meet and haven’t been outside a lot. We’ve been inside; we’ve been outside; every day it’s been different."

Great attitude

Despite all the adversities, Wachtel has liked what he has seen from his team.
"The attitude has been great," the coach said. "Everyone has been positive. It helps out, when you have 95 guys on a team, to have guys like Brian, Mark, and Jarrell. We’ll have a group that runs with Brian, and other guys work with the sprinters and jumpers. They do a nice job with that."
Then motioning to his three captains, Wachtel said, "These three guys in front of me have turned into leaders. They have stepped up a lot. And I’m pleased with that. It’s nice to see and it helps us a lot."

Wachtel said that the Dutch should be a good team this year. He thinks his team will be better at invitational meets than at Suburban Council dual meets.
"It will be interesting to see if we are a dual team or an invitational team," Wachtel said. "An invitational team is what I think we have here. We have guys that will score some points. They will give us key performances."

The team will be led by Rhodes-Devey in the distance events. He is one of the best distance runners in the state and will be going to the University of Texas to run next year.

Domarcki will lead the sprinters. He will be running at Boston College next year.

The Dutch will rely on their two Division I runners a lot this season but also have other good athletes.

Gatterson will be doing jumps for Guilderland. He is looking to attend the State University of New York College at Brockport next year to play football and possibly run track.
"As a leader and a senior, everyone is looking to you," Gatterson said. "You’ve been there a long time and done the events. They look to what you’ve done. That’s part of what being a leader is for me. And being responsible in school."

"Solid team"

The Dutch will also have good juniors in sprinter David Slingerland, distance runner Roland Graves, and athletes Jeff Geisendorfer and Jeremy Bend.
"We should have a solid team," Rhodes-Devey said. "We’ve always had some good individuals. But, this year, we have depth. We have a lot of young guys that it’s their first time running track. But we expect a lot out of them. They have a lot of raw talent."
"We’re real strong on top but we have no middle," Wachtel said. "We have a lot of younger guys, but they have not been here. We are making adjustments."

There are 10 eighth-graders that could be big contributors to the team this year. If not, they show promise for the future.
"We have solid eighth-graders," Rhodes-Devey said.
"They have a lot of talent," Domaracki added.
"I like the make-up of the team," Wachtel said. "I’m really, really excited. The make-up of everybody is good."

The athletes on the team are real hard workers, which impresses the coach and captains.
"Everyone knows what they are here to do," Rhodes-Devey said.
"They know what to do to get better," Wachtel said. "And they work at it."

The captains want to make the final spring of high school track a great experience.
"It’s up to these guys," Wachtel said. "They’ve lived it for the past few years; they work at it and have the drive for it."
"We are looking forward to ending our high school careers on a high note," Rhodes-Devey said.