Titans track defends Southern Peaks league title

More records set and more Titans headed to state meet

Both the boys and girls’ Titans track teams hit the goals set by their coaching staff as the girls’ team won the league title for the second year in a row while the boys took third place at the Southern Peaks league championships in Center on Friday, May 11.
“It was an incredibly successful day,” says coach Laura Puckett. “They really put into practice what we’ve been drilling into their heads all year.”

Furthermore, the times and distances are in from around the state and it’s official; 16 Crested Butte Titans qualified in 16 events for the 2012 Colorado State 2A Championships to be held May 17-19 at Jeffco Stadium.
Puckett and the coaches noticed a slight paradigm shift across the board both heading into the league championships and during the actual meet. For one, the athletes were mindful of what was at stake at the league meet and prepared accordingly the week prior.
“They took care of themselves last week so they were healthier going into the meet,” says Puckett.
Secondly, while track meets are a series of individual events, there is a team component and the Titans were counting team points all day.
“They were really cognizant of the overall team score all day and it was cool to see them engaged in that context,” says Puckett.
The girls team scored points in 15 different events with league titles ranging in events from Amber Scott’s title in the 3200 meters to the 4×200-meter title won by Suzanna Dumas, Brittany Barefield, Lindsay Kopf and Monika Olesen.
Scott was on fire all day in the distance events running a combined total of four miles when all was said and done generating 31 of the teams’ 82 total points. In addition to her win in the 3200-meters race, Scott took the league title in the mile, placed third in the 800-meters and joined Miki Olesen, Shannon Costello and Kopf to win the 4×800-meter relay.
The points toward the girls’ team totals didn’t stop there. Elisabeth Desmarais posted a fifth place in the discus and sixth in the 300 hurdles and Ali McGuire jumped her way into fifth place in the triple jump adding key points to secure the team win.
The boys’ team had its fair share of excitement and success with Kaleb Schultz hurdling over a dog in the 4×100 relay and Kyle Boyle diving across the finish line in the 4×400 relay.
Forrest Smith had a similar day to Scott’s, competing in the 3200, the 1600 and the 800-meter events. His total mileage of racing came in just under four miles.
“It was a heavy day for those two distance athletes,” says Puckett.
Smith set a new personal record in the 3200, posting a time of 10:33.01 to take second place. He finished third place in the 1600 and set another personal record in the 800-meters to finish in fifth place.
Matt Galley is on pace to take names at the state meet after winning both the 1600 and the 800-meter runs in Center, setting a couple meet records in the process.
With the distance crew coming through as always, the sprinters are the ones that pushed the boys’ team into third place, just one point shy of second place.
Kyle Boyle tacked on team points in the 400 meters and then jumped into the 200 meters to place third while the boys’ 4×100 team took fourth and the 4×400 relay team finished third.
The icing on the cake came from Liam Mortell. Mortell tied the school record distance in the discus to place fifth and set a personal record in the shot put to place second.
“He had a great day, “says Puckett. “He brought his A-game.”
Looking to the state championships, Puckett has a mixed bag of expectations for her athletes. Several of the distance runners are ranked top three or four in the state heading in and have some experience at the big show which can draw as many as 1,000 fans to the stadium.
“Our distance kids are strong and they’ve been to the state meet before,” says Puckett. “Amber, Forrest and Matt are looking to be very competitive.”
At the other end of the spectrum is a handful of Titans making their first trip to the championships. Nevertheless, she believes that the level of competition will push them to a new personal level.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if we set new school records this weekend,” says Puckett. “For all of these kids, the most important thing is that they made it. From this point on, everything is a gift and a bonus.”