Craig ready to sculpt THS track and field into winner

Braxton Craig is familiar with the challenges smaller schools can face when fielding athletic rosters, especially for sports such as track and field.

However, the Hatton High School graduate has been encouraged by what he has seen thus far from his athletes in what is his first year as the head coach of the Tharptown track and field squad.

One athlete he’s particularly excited about, he said, is Cody McCluskey, who will compete in the long jump in addition to a variety of other events for the Wildcats.

“He’s been below 12 seconds in the 100-meter dash during practices so far, so that’s really something,” Craig said.

“I think if we keep developing him during practice, we can keep cutting that number down and who knows what happens after that.”

Another name to keep an eye on, Craig said, will be senior shotput competitor Laikyn Gardner, who has been progressing at a “rapid pace” in practices.

“To be honest with you, there’s a lot to be excited about,” Craig said. “We had more kids come out and participate this year and we have a lot of potential to be good, We just have to put everything together.”