OLATHE – The pieces are falling into place for the Dolores track and field teams.
With the San Juan Basin League meet arriving on Tuesday, April 29, in Ignacio, the Bears hope to overwhelm the competition with their depth across all disciplines in search of an elusive league title.
In their final action before the SJBL meet, both Dolores and Dove Creek traveled to Olathe on Thursday to improve their state standing in a number of events. With just three week remaining before the state meet in Lakewood, DHS head coach Angie Lowe and her Bears are either well within the top 18 cutoff for state qualification, or are right on the cusp in almost every relay for both the boys and girls teams.
For the boys, a strong 4 x 100 relay composed of juniors Michael Rantz, Aaron Nielson, Deven Winter, and senior Davien Pawlicki scorched the single-lap circuit with a time of 46.02 – bumping the Bears inside the top 15 in the 2A classification. Their effort was good for third in the Pirate Invitational, and now the Bears have two relays sitting inside the top 18, with the 4 x 400 relay also poised to make state.
Rantz’ return to action after a few weeks away sparked the Bears in the sprints, as the school record holder took second in his strongest event – the 400 meters – with a runner-up finish in 51.83.
Freshman Joseph Padilla took second in the 3,200 (11:07.33) and junior Bridger Beyhan added a fifth place run in the 800 (2:13.45).
The Bears girls team also saw big jumps in the state standings, as the 4 x 800 relay team of seniors Elia and Maya Lowe, sophomore Kendall Chavez and freshman Emilynn Hill find themselves in the top 10 with a run of 10:51.68 – a time that won them the Pirate Invitational title. The same quartet took runner-up in the 4 x 400 with a run of 4:31.34, as the Bears also sit in the top 15 in that event.
Dolores also took third in the 4 x 100 relay (56.22), led by senior Emma Kemp, who claimed third in the individual 100 meter dash (13.96). Freshmen Emma Nielson and Madison Gapp claimed sixth and ninth in the 100, respectively, as the Bears showed off their depth in the sprints.
Senior Coralea Wright added a runner-up finish in the 100 hurdles (17.71), as she continues to sit within the qualification window heading into the final few meets.
For Dove Creek, head coach Jason Fury and the ‘Dogs have visions of sending a bundle of athletes to the 1A state championships and also factor prominently into the SJBL race.
The boys aided their résumé in the 4 x 100 relay, jumping inside the top 9 in the 1A with a run of 47.55. Their 4 x 200 relay took sixth in the Pirate Invitational (1:41.32). Meanwhile, junior Daniel Gray made a massive jump in the hurdle events, taking second in the 110 hurdles (17.75) and third in the 300 (47.10), with his effort in the shorter of the two races catapulting him into the top 5 in the state.
In the girls competition, senior Ralynn Hickman improved her season best in the long jump (4th place – 15’ 4 ½”) to leap into the top 10 in the state, while classmate Jessica Alexander claimed eighth in the 800 (2:45.07) while the 4 x 200 relay team earned fifth (2:04.88).
Action at the SJBL meet kicks off on Tuesday morning in Ignacio with the field events beginning at 11 a.m. and the track events set to commence at approximately 1 p.m.
