Race to State is on track Last chance to qualify is this weekend

by David Tesitor
HUERFANO COUNTY — It is do-or-die time for some athletes. It is also a time for others to prepare for the state tournament.
Only the league meets remain this weekend. During the past weekend, some athletes fell from qualifying times and others dropped in the rankings because across the state, the athletes representing Class 2A saw many personal bests and set the bar just a little bit higher.
Among those improving their best times were the John Mall girls 4X800 meter relay team which set a school record by running the distance in 11 minutes 37.50 seconds at the Ray Headley Invitational in Swink. The team, consisting of Tiffany Pettit, Myranda Trujillo, Adaina Martinez and Natalie Neece, is ranked twenty, 2.60 seconds from qualifying for state. For the team to advance, the girls need to break their own record by several seconds.
The La Veta Redskin relay team also improved their time, finishing third in the 800M run. The team however fell in the rankings because many teams also recorded personal best times.
Ashton Rinker of La Veta set a school record in the 100M dash in a time of 13.19 seconds. Rinker narrowly beat out Neece in the finals by .01 second, finishing third. Jacey Day of La Veta set a record in the 200M dash in her preliminary run. She did not record a time in the finals. Neece recorded a personal best time in the finals, finishing third.
Other qualifiers at the Swink meet included Victoria Romero who finished 4th (2:46.89) and Myranda Trujillo who finished 3rd in the 1600M (6.03.00).
The La Veta girls relay team finished 4th in the 4X100M (55.28). The relay ream includes Day, Rinker, Rena Trujillo and Brenna Ray. The La Veta team also finished 5th in the 4X200M, improving their time by .10. This relay team consisted of Hannah Everett, Day, Trujillo and Ray. The Redskin Relay team finished 3rd in the 4X800M, also improving their time to 11:14.80. The Redskins finished 4th in the 800M Medley.
In the girls field events, Angelica Souza of John Mall finished third in the shot put throwing 32 feet while teammate Krista Cordova finished 4th (31’ 04.75’)
In the boys events, Adam Ortivez finished 2nd in the 400M (55.11). In the 800M run, La Veta’s Casey Campbell finished 9th, missing placing in the top eight by a mere half second. Josiah Christian of La Veta finished 2nd in the 300M hurdles with a time of 41.92 seconds, improving his time by .04. The Redskin relay teams also placed high, finishing second in the 4X100 (47.43) to hold on to the last qualifying spot for state. The team is comprised of Ortivez, Brandon Morgan, Wyatt Vidamor and Blake Warren. The relay team also finished 2nd in the 4X400M.
Morgan finished first in the long jump soaring 21’ 2.25”. Teammate Vidamor finished 8th with a jump of 17’ 8.00”. Bradley Vigil finished 2nd in the shot (43’ 2.5”) while Isaiah Vigil of John Mall finished 8th (37’ 9.00”). Bradley Vigil finished 6th in the discus.
La Veta finished 10th in the team standings at Swink while John Mall finished 11th. The La Veta boys finished 6th.
The Panthers also competed at Lewis Palmer on Saturday. Myranda Trujillo finished 1st in the 1600 meter (6:02.25), Neece finished 2nd in the 200M, 4th in the 400M, and 7th in the 800M. The Panther 800M Sprint Medley team finished 2nd.
With the league meet this weekend, it is time for everyone to push their endurance to the limit.
As we saw last weekend, some fell in the rankings while others are a mere seconds or inches from making the trip to state. If ever there was a time to best themselves. this is it.
Editor’s note: We incorrectly stated Jon Brunelli broke a school record last week in the 100M dash. He in fact still holds the school record he set in 2009. There are several pages and web-links we go through to compile our reports and we apologize for the error.