RIMERSBURG — Union sprinter Drew Marsh told fellow juniors Cole Morris and Dugan Gallagher track was worth the hassle.

They would benefit from additional conditioning for football season.

The Golden Knights program would also benefit from having more depth.

“It is worth it,” Marsh said of his recruiting pitch. “They can be good if they have the right mindset and come to practice.”

Morris and Gallagher along with senior Eric Seary, who never competed in track before, decided to give it a try. Marsh's prediction of success for the duo happened in the first meet.

The 400 relay team — consisting of Tyler Wiser, Gallagher, Marsh and Morris — finished in 46.8 seconds to hit a qualifying time for the District 9 Class AA championships.

Getting football players out for the team was a focus for first-year coach Jesse Pattison.

Pattison talked to Golden Knights football coach Dave Louder about helping recruit guys.

“He was actually after Dugan and I pretty hard every day,” said Morris, who also plays basketball and baseball. “We finally gave in. I figured I only do this once, so I might as well.”

Upping the numbers was important for bettering competition.

Union ended last season in the low teens for participating athletes, while this year's squad is up to 26.

“Our junior class has a lot of athletic ability,” Pattison said. “I saw talent and thought it would translate over.”

Marsh, who has been on the team since his freshman year, said getting the others ready didn't take much preparation time.

“It only took a couple days to get our hand-offs down,” Marsh said. “They caught on quickly and the timing on the track has been correct.”

Morris didn't have any time to get ready for the 300 hurdles.

Pattison stuck Morris in the event against the Falcons without any trial runs.

In his first go-round, Morris finished first with a time of 46.7 seconds, missing qualifying for districts by two seconds.

While Morris didn't knock any hurdles over, he didn't look like an Olympian during the race either.

“Coach told me to finish and get over the hurdles,” Morris said. “I was just jumping straight up in the air. I wasn't trying to do it right.”

Since the first meet, Morris is focusing on doing things right.

He's been working on his steps and hopes to earn a district bid.

“I'm working on jumping in a flat line over the hurdles,” Morris said. “When I was jumping straight up, I was losing speed and time.”

Seary has helped round out the throws for Union, turning in a top javelin throw of 111 feet, 2 inches. He won with a throw of 109-7 in the Golden Knights' meet against Redbank Valley.

“He's built to be an excellent discus and javelin guy,” Pattison said.

Marsh believes the additions have made Union more competitive.

“With the speed we have, it makes us more competitive,” Marsh said. “You want to beat the guy beside you. I'd like to see us make it to states, but we have to keep working.”