PRESTON — Preston High School has found its new head track coach just before the start of the track season.

Emily Burnett, the new coach, said she has been teaching and coaching for years. She is the high school’s assistant cross country coach and has taught several subjects.

“I teach the speech classes and the drama classes,” Burnett said. “I’ve taught English.”

Burnett is originally from California, but she went to college at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah, before moving to Preston to be a teacher.

“I’ve been teaching and coaching in Preston for the past 15 years,” Burnett said.

Burnett said her favorite part about coaching is working with the kids on the team and helping them accomplish their goals.

“It’s great to do the sport that you love and pass it on to other people,” Burnett said.

Burnett has a few goals for the team this year. Last year, the Preston High School track team won the district title for both the girls and boys teams.

“One goal would be to repeat that performance, which is never easy because Pocatello and Century are always good,” Burnett said.

The boys team was ranked ninth last year at the state competition and the girls were ranked 11th. Burnett hopes to improve both of those performances this year.

“We return quite a few boys (this year) that we think could perform well,” Burnett said. “Our girls are really young, so it will be exciting to see what they can do.”

The track season starts at the end of February and goes until the end of May. Burnett said there are usually between 120 and 130 students who join the track team and she expects about that many will join this year.

“We hope it’s a great year,” Burnett said.