Chris Nasis has inherited the Bartlett indoor track team this winter and is looking to help the team improve while having fun with the sport. 

“Being my first year as the coach, it is important to me that I allow the kids to have the best experience that they possibly can,” Nasis said. “We don’t have a lot of practice facilities because a new school is being built, so we’ll be working more on strength and conditioning while bouncing between the two gyms to get our training in.”

According to the coach, one gym is padded where the team can practice their throwing, and the other gym is where they will practice their sprints. Obviously, the team will take advantage of the outdoors until the cold weather sets in and forces them inside.

“We don’t have large numbers and with the fact that we don’t have actual practice facilities these kids have been resilient,” Nasis said. “They have actually practiced running in the school hall when needed. They understand the situation and what they need to do if they want to become good.”

Not having the numbers like some of the bigger schools and being a relatively young team Nasis is just looking to help the athletes improve day by day, making them better than the last while providing them the best possible experience that he can. 

Nasis is looking at two particular athletes on this year’s team to help provide the team with success. Cam Hast and Eryk Piwowarczyk taking part in their third and fourth seasons with the team, respectively, are on the Bartlett first year coach’s radar to not only help the team but help the coach as well. 

Hast, a junior, has been part of both the indoor and outdoor track teams taking part in the shot put and discus. His personal best currently sits at 30 feet in the shot put, while he has thrown the discus 77 feet and he is hoping to continue to improve in both events this winter. The junior, who also plays football for the high school, has set a goal of throwing the shot put 35 by the end of the season.

While Hast is focused on his throwing skills, Piwowarczyk is an important member of the Indians’ running teams. Entering his fourth year he is Swiss Army knife to the team running in a variety of events. The senior runs the 50-yard dash (his best time 6.84 seconds), 55 meters (8.04), 300 meters (45.08), 600 meters (1:48) and 1000 meters (3:17). He is also a high jumper who has cleared the bar at 5’8” and is looking to break the school record. The Bartlett high jump record was set in 2010 by George Katusi when he jumped 5’9”; Piwowarczyk is currently an inch away from tying that 15-year-old record. Once he takes control of the indoor record the senior can go after the outdoor record set by State Champion John Guerin (6’8” set  in 1984).

“Eryk was named the team MVP last year during indoor track and we will defiantly plant him in the high jump as that’s where he seems to gravitate towards,” Nasis said. “He also seems to be very strong in the 300 and 600, but we’ll have to see.”

Both athletes are also looking to keep their grades up in the classroom.

The Bartlett coach is also very interested in seeing what freshman Karielyz Morales can do this season running indoor track at Bartlett for the first time. She will run the shorter distances and dashes for the Indians and possibly the high jump or hurdles having the physical attributes to do so.

“Karielyz is the type of kid that all coaches want to have on their team,” he said. “She comes to practice each and every day and works extremely hard and I can’t wait to see what she actually brings to the table.”

According to Nasis, the middle school coach has been working with the kids at the school and hopefully they will be able to make a smooth transition into the high school while wanting to continue to take part in track.