GREENVILLE – Greenville opened its home track and field season Tuesday night, hosting Troy and Butler at the Jennings Center Track & Field Complex in a windy early-season meet.
For veteran Greenville coach Bill Plessinger, the evening marked a chance to get athletes on their home track, establish times and distances, and continue preparing for a busy week ahead.
“This is our first home meet, a little windy,” said Plessinger. “It’s the first time we’ve had a spring break meet since I’ve been head coach, so we’re missing some people, but it’s good to get kids out on the track, get some times set, and get ready for Friday.”
Greenville opened the home meet with approximately 60 high school athletes competing for the 2026 season.
According to Plessinger, participation numbers are strong on both the boys’ and girls’ sides, which he believes gives the Green Wave a solid foundation as the season moves forward.
“We have about 60 on both teams, boys and girls — numbers are good,” Plessinger said. “We are very strong in field events this year. We don’t have a weakness in any field event at all.”
The meet featured both Troy’s boys and girls teams, along with Butler’s boys team, as Butler’s girls were unable to compete due to low numbers.
Greenville has already shown promise early in the season, with the Lady Wave field events recently placing third out of 16 teams at Troy.
Plessinger pointed to Greenville’s continued success in the field events as one of the program’s trademarks.
“Coach Winner is doing a great job in shot and discus,” Plessinger said. “We’ve always been good in field events, we’ve always kind of pushed it.”
While Greenville may not always have the same depth in running events as some of the larger Miami Valley League schools, Plessinger said the Wave continues to compete well on the track.
“We make the best of what we have on the running part, but as long as I have been the coach, we’ve always been competitive,” he said.
Plessinger also credited the program’s coaching staff and summer youth track and field camp for helping build and sustain interest in the sport.
“About everybody out here are camp people — almost all of them,” Plessinger said. “It’s a great thing for our program.”
Greenville will be back in action Friday, April 3, when it hosts the Greenville Invitational with a 4:30 p.m. start. The Wave will then travel to Wayne High School on Tuesday, April 7, for the Wayne Relays beginning at 4 p.m.
“Next week we have the Wayne relays, which is a really fun meet because it’s all relays,” said Plessinger. “We compete really well there.”
With the season just getting underway, Plessinger knows how quickly the schedule will move.
“The season will be over before you know it,” Plessinger said. “It goes fast — it’s a blur.”
