The Caddo Bruins will open their 2007 track season at Sulphur Friday when they compete in the Rock Creek Invitational Track and Field Meet.

Led by Junior Chase McMichael, the Bruins will be short on numbers but long on talent.

McMichael, on of the premier long distance runners in the state, will be running the 1600 and 3200 meters. For the past two cross country seasons he has captured All-State honors in the 5K (3.1 mile) run.

Kendall Maddox, a senior, will be vying for medals in the 200 and 400 sprints. In early pre-season time trials he has turned in some credible times and has aspirations of lowering those even more.

Junior Justin Boyd ran a 2:05 800 meters last year in the state meet and looks to drop his time by several seconds before the spring campaign is complete. He also runs the 400 in the low 50s.

Another distance runner for the Bruins is Jerreck McWilliams. Also a junior, he will run the 3200 and will be one of the top runners in Class 2A. His style of running is very steady as he methodically churns out consistent laps.

Jerreck always makes me nervous in the 3200,” said Caddo coach Don Tidwell. “He is very patient as he starts out near the back of the pack and just reels other runners in. We are working on getting him up into the mid-pack earlier. He always has a strong finish.”

The Bruins have one hurdler. Sophomore Lance Schafer got his times down to within one second of qualifying for state last spring and has already equaled that mark in the 300 meter intermediate hurdles.

Jacob Boyd is heaving the shot over 40 feet and his prospects of going over 46 feet are good.

“He will need to be at that mark to compete in 2A,” said Tidwell.

The Bruins have been moved up a classification this season.

A newcomer to the Track and Field scene at Caddo is Landon Johnson. He will be in the shot put circle also.

“Landon's technique is still pretty raw, but his weight training in football really helped him.”

Katie Brown, the lone Lady Trackster, will be competing as a JV discus thrower.

“If things go well at Sulphur, we might try to run the 4X400 relay. Five of our kids ran on the cross country team that finished third at State,” said Tidwell. “We hope they will have retained enough competitive spirit to want to run a race together, but it is our first meet and lots of things can happen.”