West Allis Central boys track coach Dale Lindenberg was expecting somewhat of a rebuilding season this spring with the loss of a number of talented seniors from last year's squad.

The Bulldogs, however, have topped those expectations, especially in winning the Jim Reinhard Dog Relays and in placing a strong fourth in the Rebel-North Star meet last week.

One of the main reasons is senior Bobby Gnatzig, who came up with a trio of top-three finishes in the Greater Metro Conference Indoor Meet, winning the long jump, taking second in the high jump and placing third in the triple jump.

At the Rebel-North Star, he claimed second places in those three events to again give Central a huge boost.

In the previous seasons, Gnatzig learned from two of Central's top athletes, graduated seniors Marcus Smith and Jeff Meleski.

Smith, you'll recall, captured the WIAA Division 1 championship in the 110-meter high hurdles and finished second in the triple jump in the 2007 meet. He then returned to finish fifth in the triple jump in last spring's state meet. Meleski also competed at state last year in the high jump and 110 hurdles, so he and Smith have plenty of big-meet experience.

"(Gnatzig) was able to work behind Marcus and Jeff in the jumps, and that helped him," Lindenberg said. "Also, he is a tremendous athlete."

Time will tell whether Gnatzig will follow his mentors to La Crosse once June rolls around.

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Speaking of time, the spring season is now beginning its annual sprint to the finish line. Just over one month from now, on May 26, the tournament season will begin for everyone. From now until then, all teams face a really hectic schedule, especially with all the makeup games and meets that were forced by April's inclement weather. Six or seven softball games, anyone?

Once again, as happens every year, April showers brought May mayhem.