Blake Davis feels the need for speedBecause it seems like every year cross country runners have developed a longer, more sustained and faster kick, the Gunnison cross country teams worked on speed in their week off. “Distance running has really exploded,” Davis said. “If you look at any race, from an 800 to a 5K, in the last 400 meters everyone is kicking and the amount of speed in the state is insane. We have to expose our athletes to more of that kind of running and that kind of training. The more they are exposed to that kind of running and the more we train it, see it and feel it, the more successful we’ll be.” Because the Cowboys next meet is in Salida on Saturday, Davis said GHS will see plenty of state contenders. “I’m very excited to see a lot of the teams in our region,” Davis said “Some of the best boys and girls teams in the state will be there and I am excited to see how we stack up with some good competition. It’s a tough course but we’re used to that.”Hopes for ‘home sweet home’ With the stretch run here, the Gunnison softball team wants to stack home wins. It’ll have plenty to build on after it struggled in a 20-2 loss last Tuesday to Alamosa. GHS coach Leslie diLorenzo said everyone struggled to find their groove. After so many road games, the Cowboys will have to get familiar with playing in front of more friends and family. “Having been on the road a lot and not at home, some players got a little awe struck and scared,” diLorenzo said. “We didn’t have anyone play well. We have seven games left. A lot of teams are down to just three or four games left. We have some important games coming up, we have to start playing like we did at the beginning of the season.”The Cowboys are currently hovering in the 20s for seeding, right in the middle of the pack. Which led them back to the fundamentals and situational at bats in practice.“We did a little more hitting,” diLorenzo said. “We put some pressure on the at bats, worked full count situations and did some full at bats rather than just go hit and practice for two hours because you have to. We even brought out tees to break down fundamentals.”Stepping up with injuries Pressed into a new position, Cain O’Dubhaigh rose to the occasion. The junior moved to center back and played what GHS soccer coach Susan Powers said was “an amazing game” in a 1-0 homecoming loss on Thursday to Salida. He combined with goalie Sam Anderson, who dislocated his finger in warmups, had it popped back in and taped before he allowed just a single goal. “It was great, the best I’ve seen us play,” Powers said. “They got a quick counterattack, early goal. It was one costly mistake. But we walked out feeling confident.” Hitting strideGHS volleyball beat Cedaredge on Tuesday 3-0 to move to a record of 8-4 overall and 4-0 in Western Slope league play.Everyone is on the same page as the Gunnison volleyball team enters its home stretch.“We’ve made strides as a team,” GHS coach Lindsay Hart said. “We’ve got our stuff together and figured out what we want and where we are going. For a couple games we weren’t connecting. But, we worked hard to become the team we want to be.”It was a transformation that blended in some inexperienced players into the action. They’d got their first taste and have acclimated to the speed and physical nature of the game. Hart sees the potential.“Midway through the season for them to be locked in now is exciting,” she said. The Cowboys have won three straight matches. Aubrey Welfelt continues to lead the team in kills and her consistent attack ensures a scoring slump won’t last too long. Rose Kowal and Roxie Uhrig have been stout in their defense at the net.“Strong play at the net makes it easier for defense to get more points,” Hart said. “The other team won’t have the opportunity to hit back at us. We can score more, get better placed hits and tips and start at the ground level and not push points for multiple rallies.”(James Nokes writes for Colorado Preps.)
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