Apr 9, 2019 3 min read

It was an odd sight.

A small group of athletes spread across the field for a track meet at Wash High Stadium.

At first, one might be tempted to believe they arrived at the wrong time and this was either the warm-up to or the finish of the Prexies double dual meet against Bentworth and Brownsville.

But on this warm and sunny Tuesday afternoon, this was in the middle of the meet.

The Washington track program, for years one of the more dominating in the WPIAL, is going through a numbers crunch.

And the pain and frustration is clearly visible on the faces of the coaching staff and athletes during a 131-4 loss to the Brownsville girls and an 85-51 loss to the Brownsville boys.

A roster that usually is bursting at the seams is now at 25. That’s 16 boys and nine girls. And it’s hard to win any meet with those numbers.

“We’ve had as many as 60,” said Teresa Booker, who is in her 11th season as track and field coach at Washington.

So what is happening here? Why the sudden drop in a successful program?

There are many reasons.

“It’s never been this low before,” said Booker. “It surprised me. I knew our numbers were going to be low because I saw some of the other sports in the fall and winter. I saw their numbers were dropping off but I never thought it would be this low.

“We’ve tried to encourage people to come out. I’m hoping with the numbers we have in junior high that it will help build our numbers back up. Right now, we’re looking at about 48 junior-high kids.”

Booker said students face some different challenges.

“It’s unfortunate because some of our kids are working to help take care of their younger siblings,” she said. “We’ve been very successful over the years but I heard something like this might be coming. We’ll have a year or two for rebuilding. I hope that’s all there is. I guess we’ll see in a year or so.”

It isn’t just track that is seeing numbers drop. Rosters were lower for many sports, including football and basketball.

“This school year, I’ve noticed a dip,” said Mike Bosnic, Washington’s athletic director and varsity head football coach. “I don’t think it’s anything out of the ordinary. You’ll always go through cycles. There are a lot of things that factor in on participation. I think it’s a combination of things. Enrollment at Washington has dropped drastically.”

Booker said she understands the unique situations.

“The kids’ responsibilities have changed,” she said. “Many of the kids I talked to are working two jobs. They need money for college and some are living on their own. How do you fight that?”

The Wash High boys have been undefeated in their section for the past 10 years. Three meets remain and the boys have a 2-3 record. The girls team is winless.

“I told the kids I’m here for them,” Booker said. “We’re going to help them out in any way we can.”