Locked and reloaded, Estrella Foothills track and field team is ready for its second attempt at the Southwest Region Championships.

The Wolves will take 80 athletes to the meet, 50 more than last year.

“This is our second year in this region and honestly I can’t even remember how we did last year,” distance coach Melanie Mock chuckled. “We had such a small team that maybe we picked up points here and there but nothing like we have this year.”

Led by their experienced head coach Robert Glenn, who coached for 42 years in Michigan and won 12 coach of the year awards before retiring and trekking out to the Southwest to find his niche at Foothills, the Wolves are focusing on finishing in the top three at the championships on Thursday.

The Regional Championships will be held at Youngker High School in Buckeye and will feature six teams, including rival Buckeye and Gila Ridge.

“I’m more concerned for Gila Ridge, they’ve got a couple sprinters I have my eyes out for and I think looking at them would create more of a goal for us to achieve more,” Eliana Wroclawsky said.

Although Estrella isn’t solely focusing on defeating one specific school, the Wolves do have their sights set on individuals throughout multiple events.

“I would say it’s one person on Buckeye, one person on Youngker. There’s not just a whole mob of people; it’s one person that might give them a carrot or that rabbit in the competition,” Mock said.

Senior runner Ryan Carr is focused on the 800, “Buckeye has a great [800] runner, I’m confident if I run against him that I’ll step up to the level that he’s running on.”

Some of the Wolves are using their own teammates as their inspiration to better themselves during this event.

Senior hurdler Davonte Burrell said, “One person that pushes me is school recorder holder Francisco “Poncho” Castillo, I’ve been really focused on beating him. He drives me to do better each time, I think if I push myself harder this time I might be able to beat him.”

Including Carr and Castillo, Estrella Foothills has multiple athletes who have already qualified for the Arizona State Championships and are hoping that more athletes will meet provisionals this weekend and run their way in to the state tournament.

The Wolves attest their success and growth this year to the affirmation provided by the coaches.

“We get on this track and we try to do the best we can for the kids and I think most of us here would do it without the paycheck,” Glenn said.

Mock assured: “Week after week these kids are saying, ‘Hey I’m getting better. That wasn’t as hard as last week.’ That keeps them wanting to be here.”

Always remembering the cliché student-athlete term, Glenn applies that to every individual he coaches.

“He is so humble,” Mock said, “and he really affirms who they are as people first and then as athletes.”