As if an omen from above, the thick, moisture rich clouds parted revealing blue sky and piercing rays of Springs sunshine indicative of better weather days ahead.

That was just the opening Noxon High School track coach Scott Richardson needed to move his mostly underclassmen team outdoors and embark on another round of vigorous conditioning drills as the upcoming season rapidly approaches.

Deep banks of snow that remain around the campus are indications the team has been forced to practice indoors frequently in the first week of training.

A large group of freshmen represents the hope springs eternal thinking Richardson and the Red Devils will carry into the 2022 Montana Class B-C track and field season, which gets underway with the season opening meet in Polson April 8th.

With no usable running track of their own other than a unusable dirt track circling the schools football field, Polson and Thompson Falls are as close to “home” meet as the team will have this year.

That being said, Richardson will be counting on heavily decorated weightman Cade VanVleet to being a regular producer of points for the Red Devils while a promising group of freshmen continues to develop.

VanVleet, who recently signed a letter of intent to attend Montana Tech University where he will throw the discus and shot put, is a returning All-state performer who finished second in the shot put last year with a throw of just over 50 feet.

“It was not my best throw,” VanVleet said of the toss. “But it was good enough for second and some team points. Hopefully I’ll do better this year”.

That being an understatement of his drive and determination, improvement can only be a state title for the massively built senior.

The Red Devils other state meet participant was senior Nathan Cano, who qualified in two hurdles event but did not place.

With those two being the base of experience, the Red Devils and coach Richardson will be hoping for rapid improvement from a large, strong class of ninth-grade boys and girls to contribute team points.

“We have a strong group of freshmen coming up,” he said. “We should be pretty good in the future but I’m hoping we can develop some solid performances this year too. This is kind of a rebuilding year for us and we are hoping the foundation for the next few years will be among this group of freshmen”.

To help achieve that goal, Richardson and fellow coach Matt Haven have been focusing on conditioning drills to get the team in top physical conditioning which will morph into points as the years goes by.

With five years experience as Noxon track coach, Richardson has developed a crossfit- like routine with innovate exercises and tests of strength such as flipping a large truck tire back and forth blended with a variety of running and weight lifting type routines to help build overall strength and fitness.

“When you think about it, the first part of any sports season is usually about conditioning,” he said. “We wanted to build something that provides the means to strengthen all the various muscle groups”.

The goal he said is to encourage the individual athletes to work as hard as they can, and at their pace, to get ready for the upcoming season.

“The first few weeks are all about conditioning,” he said. “We want to focus on each athlete getting better and finding new personal records (PRs) during the season. Those who stick with the program and work hard will see the results”.

Overall Richardson is hoping to find some sprinters among the freshmen group to go along with VanVleet’s strength and experience in the throwing events and Cano’s abilities in the hurdle events.

So on this brief day of sunshine lighting the grounds and parking lot on the front of the school, tires were being flipped, weights were being carried and length of the parking lot sprints were the order of the day.

Hopefully some team points will be found among the group of 14 who have turned out for track, including potential sprinter Trevian Monegan and aspiring long distance runner Martha Klaus in the mile and two-mile events. Or freshmen Stephanie Everett in the 100 and 200 meter runs and the javelin.

Time and conditioning will be the key.