Area prep teams get ready for Saturday's Panther Invitational

Area prep teams get ready for Saturday's Panther Invitational

April 24, 2001

Coming down the track

TIA WOOD of the Dolores County High School varsity girls track team flies down the track during the 800-meter run on Saturday at the 43rd annual Bloomfield Invitational at BHS Stadium. Although Wood did not place, she still ran a good race. She will join the rest of her teammates and all the area teams at this Saturday’s Panther Invitational Track and Field Meet at Panther Stadium in Cortez. The field events will begin at 10 a.m. and the running events around 12:30 p.m.

BY JIM THOMAS
Journal Sports Editor

BLOOMFIELD, N.M. — It was just a bad day all the way around for the three small schools at the 43rd annual Bloomfield Invitational Track and Field Meet at BHS Stadium on Saturday, April 21.

Dropped batons, spills over hurdles, competitors injured or not competing, timeing off, and scratches bothered some Mancos, Dolores, and Dolores County athletes. If it wasn’t one thing, it was another thing. As a result, hardly any of them placed. They did, however, go up against some much larger schools and some keen competition.

In the boys’ division, Travis Clark of Mancos came in third in the discus with a throw of 143 feet, 3 inches. That was by far one of the best field performances of the day. Two other Mancos performers placed. Philip Wilson came in sixth place in the 100-meter dash with a time of 11.74 seconds. Jesse Rousset crossed the finish line in third in the 800 run in 53.18.

Kirtland-Central, from Kirtland, N.M., won the boys’ division going away with 108 points. Durango, which has not lost a meet this season, finished way back in second with 64 while host Bloomfield took third with 59. Piedra Vista (Farmington) came in fourth with 48.5, followed by Aztec 37, Shiprock 25, Farmington High 23.5, San Juan County High (Blanding, Utah) 22, Ignacio 15, Pagosa Springs 13, Mancos and Bayfield 9, and Albuquerque High 8. Dolores did not score.

The girls’ didn’t fare much better on the day.

Mancos’ Amanda Kennedy was edged at the wire and finished second in the 200 dash. She turned in a time of 25.91. Dolores County’s Alyssa Redshaw continues to show flashes of one day being an outstanding thinclad as she placed fourth in 26.61.

The two runners, who are devloping quite a rivalry, finished three and four, respectively, in the 100. Kennedy was clocked in 12.5 and Redshaw 12.66. Shandra Johnson of Dolores County came in third place in the long jump with a leap of 15-1.

The Mancos 1,600 relay team came in fifth in 4:30.81.

Farmington High won the girls’ side with 80 points. Durango came in second with 75, while Bloomfield came in third with 61. They were followed by Kirtland-Central with 50, Bayfield 44, Albuquerque-Sandia 42, Ignacio 21, Aztec 17, Cimmarron 16, Mancos 11, Dolores County 10, and Piedra Vista and Pagosa Springs 7. Dolores did not score.

Montezuma-Cortez High School boys and girls competed at the Wildcat Relays, which was a State qualifying meet. No Panthers automatically got their ticket punched for Denver, though. However, both boys coach Bob Archibeque and girls coach Doug Anderson were still pleased.

"We did okay. We were missing a couple kids who are nursing injuries. We ended up fourth but we might have finished as high as second if we had them. Teams two and four were separated by only six points, so we right there," Archibeque reported.

The Wildcat boys won three of the four relays Friday at their own invitational meet at Stocker Stadium at Lincoln Park. Not surprisingly, they won the eight-team meet by an impressive 58 points. Fruita-Monument scored 141 points. Moffat County was second with 83 points and Rifle third 80.

Colin Tansey placed fourth in the shot put with a heave of 44-11 3/4. Tansey came in third in the discus with a toss of 129-7. Derique Duran came in right behind him in the shot at 44-8 and he finished fifth in the discus with a throw of 122-3.

Josh Lee sprinted his way to a second in the 100 in 11:41. Lee also took second in the 200 with a time of 22.87.

The Panther’s 800 relay team came in second and the 400 relay took fifth. The 1,600 relay placed third at 3:34.81.

Moffat County's 121 points were good for the team title in the girls meet. Fruita was second with 109 points and Rifle third with 85.

"We didn’t score very many points, but we did have a good meet," Anderson said. "The girls’ division was really tough."

The girls’ medley relay came in sixth in 1:58.4. Anderson said that is not a bad considering it is the first time this season it has been run. He said that is a pretty good time. On that team were Tasha Toles, Marie DeBolt, Dawn Keck and Julie Christensen.

The 4X800 relay came in fifth in 11:31 which is their best time. Hannah Mortensen, Chelsea Mortensen, Becca Whitehead and Holly Smith were on that team. Anderson said it was really windy when they ran. The 4X200 relay came in fifth in 1:53. The 4X100 came in fourth in 54:06, was a best time for Kendra Taylor, Keck, Toles and Kristi Chritensen. The 4X400 relay came in fifth in 4:32.

Christina Tilton picked up a second in the girls’ discus with a personal record throw of 101-7. She also placed fourth in the shot with a heave of 33-4 1/2. Julie Christensen placed sixth in the open 400, an event she just wanted to try but will likely not run again. DeBolt had a PR of 27.58 in the 200.

The Cortez Panther Invitational, a new home meet this year, will feature visiting schools such as Mancos, Dolores, Dolores County, Nucla, San Juan County High (Blanding, Utah) and Red Mesa, Ariz. The meet will start with the field events at 9:30 a.m. and the running events at 12:30 p.m. at Panther Stadium. Volunteers are needed to time, check distances, and run sheets to the pressbox. For more information, phone Archibeque or Anderson at 565-3722 during school hours.