The GHS track and field teams kicked into a higher gear at the Western Slope League Championship in Grand Junction on May 2 and 3. Star athletes Jackson Dalleck, Angela Hindes and Shane Mensing paved the way with first-place finishes in their respective events. But it was the GHS underclassmen that turned heads on the eve of the state championship.
In high school track and field, the top 14 seeded athletes in each event qualify for the state championship. Last weekend marked the second-to-last chance for the Cowboys to secure their rankings, with the final opportunity set for the Friday Night Lights meet in Pueblo on May 9.
“Everyone is competing really well, but the times are bunched up close together in a lot of events, so we want to bump up our times as much as possible [before the state championship],” said Head Coach Stacey Mickelson. “This group is really prepared, they’re in a great position to go and do well.”
With the season coming down to the wire, the Cowboys are only heating up. In Grand Junction, the GHS high-jumping squad dominated the podium. Senior Hindes snagged first-place with a leap of 5-feet, 4-inches, while Aubrey Welfelt placed second and Emma Bogart took third. Caroline Sudderth added to the top finishes with a second-place time in the 100-meter hurdles, and fourth in the 300 hurdles.
Eden Williams soared to a second-place distance in the long jump, while Sienna Gomez took third and Lee Brunsting placed fourth. Kathryn Frey, the Cowboys lone female thrower, also added to the weekend’s highlight reel with a fifth-place toss in the shot put.
Then, the Cowboy underclassmen sped out of the gates. Sophomore Maya Petrie placed second in the 200-meter dash, and freshman Gianna Wickenhauser cruised to a fourth-place time in the 400-meter dash.
A third-place finish from Williams, and fourth-place time from Welfelt in the 100-meter dash capped off an impressive showing from the Cowboy sprinters. It set the stage perfectly for the Cowboy distance crew to add to the festivities.
Dalleck placed first in the 1600, and second in the 800 with a time of 2:02.61. Then Madelyn Stice snagged second place in the 3200, while Jemma Petrie swept up back-to-back second-place finishes in the 1600 and 800.
Following up on Dalleck’s top finish for the boys squad, sprinter Arno Mortensen bagged a second-place time in the 100-meter dash, and third in the 200-meter dash. Cooper Mickelson took eighth in the 110 hurdles, and Mensing capitalized with a first-place distance in the discus. Garret Maclennan followed right on the senior’s heels, earning a fifth-place discus launch.
The Cowboys will keep the foot firmly on the gas in the coming week, as Pueblo marks the final opportunity for state qualification. Then, the athletes will travel to Denver for the big dance May 15-17.
(Alex McCrindle can be contacted at 970.641.1414 or alex@gunnisontimes.com.)
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