If Franklin track and field coach Brandon Dworak has his way, Grace Tincher's recent NCAA indoor appearance was just a sneak preview.

Tincher, who placed ninth in the long jump at the Division III indoor championships last weekend, is part of a loaded freshman class that has the Grizzlies feeling bullish about not just the future, but the present.

Three different Griz freshmen broke school records during the indoor campaign — Tincher in the long jump, Alex Mast in the 400-meter dash and Alaina Kellerman in the pole vault. 

"There's been a really steady influx, some life from that new group," Dworak said.

Franklin isn't leaning entirely on its rookie class, though. Dworak pointed to senior Wynn Wellington, who's healthy and having her best year, pacing the distance crew alongside sophomore Fiona Sodrel. Those two, along with Mast and Ariana Sheckler, finished third in the distance medley relay at HCAC indoors.

In the field, junior Cailyn Baechle comes back after finishing fifth in the conference last spring in the javelin. Tincher and Kellerman both scored in the high jump during HCAC indoor and should be at or near the top of the conference again this spring.

The roster as a whole, Dworak says, is better suited for outdoor than indoor — a scary thought for HCAC foes given that Franklin was just five points out of fifth place in the indoor meet.

The Grizzlies were picked sixth in the HCAC preseason poll, but Dworak likes his team's chances of finishing higher.

"I'm fully expecting, if we have everybody healthy and things are rolling, we can be a top half of the conference team," he said, "and hopefully it stays that way for the foreseeable future."

As young and talented as the Grizzlies are, there's little reason to think otherwise.