The Marshalltown boys’ track and field team enters the spring season will plenty of questions, but more bodies to help answer them.

The Bobcats begin the new year with roughly 70 athletes on their roster for what head coach Bob Gilbertson expects to be a “fun” season.

“Our numbers are slightly up, so anything up is good,” he said. “It’s just a way to get faster for whatever sport you want to get faster for, or if this is your sport, that’s great. If it’s not, then we’re going to get you better for your other sports.”

For a handful of Bobcats, this is their sport — on some level. State cross country qualifiers Preston Johnson, a junior, and Carter Nunn, a senior, make up a part of a distance portion of the Marshalltown roster that is looking like the head of the class to this point.

Johnson qualified for for state in two events individually last spring despite an illness, but he was healthy when he finished second in the Class 4A state cross country championships in the fall.

Gilbertson is expecting big things from the Bobcats’ distance crew, which also includes varsity cross country runners Myles Goldman, Isacc Ceniceros, Kade Randall, Costin Piscitelli and Michael Downs.

“I feel like that mid-distance senior group is pretty strong, as well as the distance group,” Gilbertson said. “And the sprinters too — there’s some leaders in each one of those, and I think that part right there is important.

“Looking at what we have, we’re going to be a little distance-laden right now and mid-distance too. That’s the core that we have coming back that’s the most experienced. But I’m excited for the sprints — I think we have a lot of potential there, especially if we can get everybody healthy and out that we want to have out.”

Johnson, who was 18th in the 4A 3,200-meter run at state last spring and 20th in the 1,600, will be called upon to carry the torch for the Bobcats.

“Preston Johnson has ran some races this winter for his club, XLR8, and ran some really great times,” Gilbertson said. “We’re looking forward for him to do some good things.

“Carter Nunn has put a lot of work in and he is a really good teammate, a good team player. We’re looking for him to get the results he wants to get, the times he wants to get, and he’s willing to do whatever the team needs, which is great.”

Ceniceros, a senior, and Evan Anderson, a junior, return from last year’s state-qualifying distance medley relay team, which placed 21st in 4A.

Gilbertson has high hopes for Marshalltown’s middle distance roster as well, and hopes the Bobcats can compete in sprints once the lineup looks healthier than it does in the preseason.

“We’ve got some great guys in there,” Gilbertson said. “Evan Anderson has looked really good. Tyler Englund is someone who could be good, but we’ve got to get him healthy. Aiden Smitherman has a good start to the year so far and had a great season last year but kind of tailed off at the end, so we’re looking for a way to get him healthy so he can have that good season.”

Senior Jaxson Hinkle is the team’s top returning thrower, while junior Nathan Sinclair and sophomore Brandon Torrez return to the ring as well.

“We’re doing mentor group leadership with some upperclassmen, where they’re trying a little more ownership of the team,” Gilbertson said. “They’re leading the stretches with their group, leading form runs with the group, and they’re hopefully giving them more information. Those are guys that really want to be the leaders that other guys can come and talk to when they have questions.”

The Bobcats look to answer some of those questions with their season-opening meet on Saturday, traveling to Des Moines East for the Don Graves Classic. The 11:30 a.m. event will be held at Williams Stadium and consist entirely of Iowa Alliance Conference schools: Des Moines Lincoln, Des Moines North, Fort Dodge, Ottumwa and the host Scarlets.