Dryden indoor track & field begins new era

For the last 35 years, the Dryden indoor track and field team has been spearheaded by the Stuttle siblings. Lee Stuttle took over the program in 1990 and led the way up until his retirement in 2020. Then his longtime assistant coach and sister Karen Weaver was at the helm for the past five years until she too retired. That means this season ushers in a new era for a program that has seen consistent success for decades.

Jason Webb takes over the Lions. Webb is a familiar face in the community, having been a high school physical education teacher for 26 years and has coached multiple sports at Dryden. Webb has thoroughly enjoyed working with the current crop of athletes.

“The best thing about indoor track is the kids,” Webb said. “They’re all fantastic young men and women. To be intrinsically motivated to be a good runner or a good track participant, they’re also really good students. They’re motivated academically. Working with these types of kids is a no-brainer.”

One of the sports that Webb has coached at Dryden is swimming. Like track and field, both sports are naturally individual with so many specific events. But cultivating a strong team atmosphere is crucial to Webb, and he does not have to worry about that with this year’s team.

“They’re really good about helping each other,” Webb said. “Building a contributing member to society is more important than anything. Are you there for your friends? Are you there for your teammates? Can you help them? Can you pick them up when they’re down? Can you help motivate them when maybe they’re not feeling that motivated today? And maybe the next day they’re helping you because you’re not that motivated and really rely on each other and build a nice, tight-knit little community here and look after one another. I work a lot on that.”

It’s no surprise to see Reagan Burnham once again leading the way for the Lions. The junior has consistently placed in the top three in the 600-meter, 1,000-meter, and 1,500-meter runs so far this year and is well on track to qualify for states for the third straight year.

“She knows what it takes,” Webb said. “She knows what her stats are. She knows where her recovery needs to be… she is just a motivated young lady who will persevere regardless of her physical attributes. She just puts her head down and goes. It’s all really to her work ethic. She’s working just as hard or harder than anybody.”

Two other state qualifiers from last season return for the Lions: Jade Brockner and Hannah Emmelhainz. The senior duo was part of the 1,600-meter relay that finished in the top 20 at states. Brockner, one of the team captains, has regularly finished in the top five in the 55-meter and 300-meter dashes, while Emmelhainz has excelled in the 55-meter hurdles.

“I have two daughters, and I hope they end up like these two kids,” Webb said. “I actually see my daughters in them. They’re just great all-around people. They work hard… They’re phenomenal kids who are going to go far in life. And again, that’s probably more important to me than anything else. Any time or accolade that they get on the track, what they do after this is what I try to focus on and what I appreciate.”

On the boys team, Eliot Couch is in the midst of a strong senior season. Also a captain, Couch specializes in the 55-meter dash and the 600-meter dash, the latter of which he won at their season-opening meet, the It’s About Time Invitational at SUNY Cortland.

“He’s a great young man,” Webb said. “He works hard. He doesn’t get too excited. He doesn’t get too down. He’s very even-keeled. He helps support the younger kids. When we’re doing the drills and warm-up stuff, he’s right in there with the younger guys and showing them how to do it the right way and working on starts. Whatever we’re doing, he’s right in the mix of helping guide the younger athletes.”

Not only have the Lions excelled in the distance events, they also have a couple of notable athletes in the throwing events. Seniors Austin Henry and Jay Miles have put up solid performances in the shot put, each consistently finishing in the top 10.

“Austin’s about six-foot-four, 275 pounds of monster man,” Webb said. “He is a grown man in a child’s body. He’s just a mountain of a man… Jay is probably the best athletic young man in the building everywhere we go… Jay is a dynamic, explosive athlete. As soon as he gets a few other things down, I think he’ll really be [throwing] in the 40s without too much of a problem.”

Another big change this year for the Lions is that they will be competing in Class B. While it will be an uphill battle for a sectional title going up against larger schools with a smaller team, there’s sure to be plenty more individual triumphs come February.