For a group of boys at Doherty, the next few months will be their last chance to compete together.

But a harder part about the experience is saying goodbye.

Not just to each other but also to a certain coach on the school's track and field team. Jeff Krumlauf resigned last month as the Spartans football coach after his wife decided to take an opportunity to run a family restaurant in Vail.

So for some of the boys on the track team, this season is their last chance to compete for someone they adore and respect in Krumlauf, who coaches sprints.

"The football team doesn't want to see him go," track and field coach Robert Duensing said in a response to a preseason questionnaire.

Krumlauf took over the program in 2014. He created a football culture, finishing his five-year career with a 33-17 overall record, three playoff appearances and a league title in his first year.

This past season the Spartans finished 5-6 overall, 4-1 in the Class 5A South League with an appearance in the playoffs.

Krumlauf is expected to stay until the end of the school year before he makes the move.

"It's exciting and it's bittersweet, but it's time to open the next chapter," he told CHSAAnow.com.

This year's track team is stacked with seniors and talent from this past season's football roster. That list includes sprinters Brian Mosley, Brandon Deas, Isaiah Escalante and Devon Lobato and hurdlers Robert Crawford and Jacquay Seawright, who are considered some of the top athletes on the team.

Escalante, Mosley and Lobato were part of a 4x200-meter relay team that finished third in the state meet last year with a time of 1 minute, 27.84 seconds. Fountain-Fort Carson took first in 1:26.53, followed by Cherry Cheek's 1:26.65.

The Spartans settled for 17th in the team standings.

Other top athletes on this year's team include senior Christian Olmstead (sprints), sophomore Donte Marsh (high jump), senior Brandon Zerwick (pole vault) and senior Matthew Blizzard (3,200 meters).

"We are a senior-heavy team of hungry boys," Duensing said. "We are deep in the sprints, while we are strong in the jumps, vault, throws and distance. This will be one of our largest boys teams in recent years and we are looking at making some noise at state."