Even with all the experience, there's still plenty of firsts, and vice versa.
The Division III boys state track meet kicks off Friday morning at Jesse Owens Stadium at Ohio State University, with a variety of area talent in the mix.
Calvert has eight runners in a total of five events, including all four relays, but only three of the Senecas have competed at the state meet before. However, senior Joe Brodman makes up the difference by qualifying for his fifth state event in a row over the past two years - cross country once, and wrestling and track twice each.
Seneca East sends nine runners over seven state entries - including two in the 110 hurdles. And while only two of these Tigers have run at the state meet before, two others made it in cross country - including an All-Ohioan - and another took fifth in the state wrestling meet.
Old Fort has five representatives in four events. Two of them have competed at the state meet before, with one of them and another advancing in cross country.
Carey features a returning state placer, Hopewell-Loudon has a first-time entrant who's been to the state cross country meet twice, and Buckeye Central and New Riegel each have a senior making his first trip.
Even for the calm ones, emotions will run the gamut at the year's biggest and final meet.
"It's a different atmosphere," Old Fort coach Tony Miller said of the state meet. "You've got so many people in the stands. Some kids can handle it better than others.
"I'm just hoping that these two who've never been to a state meet can handle it, and I think they'll do OK," he said. "They've been talking about how they want to go about this."
That's a wish and a sentiment echoed by the other area coaches with qualifying athletes.
"That's what I'm going to try to prepare them for this week. Get them down there so they aren't so much in shock when they get there," Calvert coach Stewart Behm said. "I really think with this group of kids, they've been really focused all season and I don't think that's going to be a problem, just because the track's a different color and the stadium's different. I think they're going to state focused and we're going to do just fine ..."
His group may be too busy to be nervous.
The Senecas qualified in all four relays, including the first time in either the 4x100 or 4x200.
"I think it says a lot about the boys. I think it says a lot about the whole team; not just the four guys that are in each relay, but they've had teammates that have pushed them in practice all season," Behm said. "I think it says a lot about the program itself.
"To be standing where we're standing now, to have four relay teams down there I think says a lot about Calvert track and field," he said.
Sophomore Ren Boehler will run each relay, making Friday a very busy day for him.
The 4x800 leads off the boys meet at 9:45 a.m., with semifinals in the 4x200, 4x100 and 4x400 coming throughout the day.
"It is unique, and I think part of that stemmed from the fact that Ren and his true self and what he wants to be, he's a sprinter. But he ran cross country, I know what his potential is," Behm said. "He's a very strong runner and I knew he had the potential to run up to an 800."
Jared Thompson, Brodman and Steve Smith round out the 4x800.
Shane Boehler, Ren's twin, anchors the three sprint relays. Smith and Nate Ritzler complete the 4x200, Austin Kontak and Ritzler fill out the 4x100, and Smith and Dan Reineke round out the 4x400.
It's a lot of running in a short amount of time, not only for Ren Boehler, but the 4x200 and 4x100 teams. There's only 15-minute span between those to semifinals.
However, Behm said he's not too concerned with that. In fact, he said the 15 minutes may seem like a longer break to them than what they're used to.
"They're used to it, and actually Shane is used to running the hundred five minutes before the 4x2, so the fact that he doesn't have to run the hundred now, I think ... his legs are going to be a little bit fresher," Behm said.
"Those three guys have done it. I think that they're used to that quick turnaround time and they've shown that they can do it and continue to run better times every race, so I'm not overly concerned with the short turnaround time," he said.
Brodman also qualified in the 1,600, but he won't run that until Saturday.
And if there's one Seneca in which Behm has faith when it comes to pressure, it's Brodman because he's been in these situations plenty of times before, going back to state wrestling his junior year.
"Joe's just one of those kids, he's had so much experience at the state level," Behm said. "I don't want to say ... that it's just another meet, because it's not just another meet, it's the state meet and he knows that, but at the same time, he's a veteran at this now. He's one of the few people in the state who can say he's a veteran at competing at the state level in any sport, let alone three sports. I think he's got that maturity level about him that he's going to handle everything just fine.
"I think he knows exactly what he has to do. He has a game plan, he knows not to let the hype of everything distract him," he said. "He still knows it's the state meet, but he's going to make just like any other meet."
That's kind of the same approach Seneca East coach Justin Ruffing wants his athletes to take, and he's been preparing them for it all season.
"It's a little different atmosphere down there," he said. "I try to make sure I put pressure on them for every single meet that we go to, so hopefully when we get in this situation they just do what they're trained to do and just do what they've done all season, and they perform well."
The Tigers will see the Senecas in two events Friday, with Brad McConnell, Jason Willman, Jeff Briggs and Karl Burgderfer running the 4x800, and Jordan Phillips, McConnell, Kevin Moore and Jamie Schafer competing in the same semifinal heat of the 4x400 as Calvert.
In between, Moore and Nick Hughes will run in separate semifinals of the 110 hurdles, and Schafer will run in the semifinals of the 400.
In the afternoon, Zach Gregg takes to the infield in the pole vault, one of three vaulting boys from the Midland Athletic League.
Saturday, Willman returns to run the 3,200.
While winding up with a team trophy might too much to hope for, Ruffing said he wouldn't be surprised to see plenty of Tigers on the podium.
"We've looked at it and everybody would have to perform pretty darn well [to end first or second as a team]," he said. "You can't worry about that as much going into a meet like the state meet. You just go in and each guy does his job and you just try to get as many All-Ohio kids as you can.
"I think every guy that we're sending down there has a shot to be All-Ohio, to be top eight," Ruffing said. "That's the goal going in for all of them."
Also for the entries from Old Fort.
The Stockaders will field the area's third 4x800 state-qualifying team, with Marcus Meyers, Luke Edgar, Zach Alexander and Brad Bannister taking the track Friday morning.
Alexander will also run Saturday in the 1,600 and 800, while his twin, Nathan, competes Friday afternoon in the pole vault one week after beating reigning state champ Tyler Wolfe of Columbus Grove for the regional title.
"That was a real big boost. He has never beaten Tyler Wolfe, and to be able to beat him at regionals, ... it was a big boost for him," Miller said. "He was extremely happy about that.
"Nathan's got a good shot. He's been vaulting real well this year. You've got the returning state champion down there and I think there's one or two other kids that have gone 15 also, so he's got a good shot," he said. "It's going to come down to the fewest misses. He's been real calm, so hopefully he can put it together."
Wolfe won't be the only familiar face the vaulting Alexander sees.
Carey's Cory Larick returns to the pit after claiming sixth last year, and since he's seen plenty of Wolfe and Alexander all year, vaulting coach Ben Enders said the senior shouldn't be awestruck by either the meet or two of the favorites.
Enders said that's important because this year's field looks to be one of the most competitive in recent year, with nine of the 16 qualifiers clearing at least 14 feet at the regional meets.
"Seeing (Wolfe and Alexander) on a routine basis, ... we know going in what the top two vaulters in the state look like and we've vaulted side by side with them several times," Enders said. "That's pretty neat because you don't walk in there going 'Wow, these guys can go 15 and a half.' We expect them to go that high, and if they don't, we know they had a bad day.
"Cory's mentally strong and he's very focused. He was sixth at state in wrestling this year, he was sixth in pole vaulting last year, so going into high-stress meets, this is where he shines," he said. "His mental focus is incredible and, I think, second to nobody, so he'll be just fine."
Another state returner is Hopewell-Loudon's Aaron Lucius, though his two state meets occurred in the fall in cross country.
Saturday his state trip will include the 3,200, something coach Doug Brickner said kept looking more and more possible as the season progressed.
"I think he's looking forward to it. He doesn't show it that much, but I'm sure he's pretty excited about making it down there," Brickner said. "And it's not anything new to him, as far as being in state competition for the first time, especially with cross country.
"I don't see that being an issue with him. This will just be a matter of him running his best race," he said. "He'll do fine. I'm not really too concerned about his mental outlook for it. I think he'll be ready to go. It just seems like he's ready to go."
It's the same with Buckeye Central's Ricky Zeigler in the 400, coach Joe Wiles said, though his senior is making his first state appearance.
He'll run in the same semifinal heat as Schafer, though he'll compete in Lane 3 while Schafer is in 7.
The top two in each heat and the next five fastest times overall advance to the finals, and Wiles said Zeigler could very well be in that mix, especially considering the senior's competitive streak.
"It's not a sure thing by any means, but he's a type of kid that I can see being that surprise kid that can do something pretty special," Wiles said.
"I think from the beginning of the year we knew he had a great shot. He had a very successful cross country season and his work ethic is phenomenal. A kid that works that hard and you know has the talent, you know good things are going to happen," he said. "I think we knew if everything fell right and he stayed healthy that this would be our definite goal for the end of the year."
New Riegel senior Timothy Reinhart has had the same goal for years, and with good reason: Two older brothers - Brandon sixth in 2003 and Michael eighth in 2009 - placed at state in the past.
"It's kind of a family tradition," said coach Alana Stevens, who ran fourth in the 800 for New Riegel in 2003 as a senior. "His older siblings have been hurdlers, too. It's just kind of the Reinhart thing, I guess."
Another goal has been to break the 40-second barrier, a mark he nearly met at the regional, finishing a personal-best 40.01 seconds to qualify.
"He really wants it, so that's definitely going to be another goal going down to state, because he really wants to break 40, he wants to get down in those 39's," Stevens said. "He said 'that's what the good guys, the fast guys are running and I want that,' and I think he can do it."
