Small squad leads Titans track in Gunnison meet

“There were some pretty strong showings”

Spring Break rears its ugly head midway through track season every spring. It’s unfortunate timing, as the Titans are just starting to hit their groove and are poised to take the next step as they prepare for the final stretch to regionals and the state championships.
The Titan coaches do what they can to encourage their kids to stay up on their training over the break and typically take a skeleton crew to the WSCU-GHS Invitational track meet in Gunnison at the end of the break.

This season followed the same pattern as coach Dustin Simoens had 11 tracksters in town for the meet in Gunnison on Saturday, April 19. Nevertheless, the 10 that showed posted solid results amidst a small number of mental errors.
“There were some pretty strong showings,” says Simoens. “But there were some mental errors as well. Some kids missed starts for their events and there were some false starts, which is really frustrating for a coach. You could tell it was a meet after a break.”
Rosie Ewert was one of the former examples, as she obviously kept up with her training over the break and it showed in her sprint events in Gunnison. Ewert posted a fifth-place finish in the 100 meters with a time of 13.19, tying the school record currently held by her teammate, Monika Olesen. She then lined up to run to an eighth-place finish in the 200 meters.
“She ran really well,” says Simoens. “You could tell she did a lot of work over the break and it paid off.”
Emma Burt joined the team at races in Gunnison. Burt transferred to Crested Butte from Gunnison and had to sit out the first half of the season’s meets per state athletic rules. But she was allowed to line up Saturday and could add some additional punch to the team down the road.
“It was cool to see her finally able to get out there,” says Simoens.
Meets at altitude are always harder on the distance runners than the sprinters, making it nearly impossible for Titans distance runner Elizabeth Kilpatrick to shave time off in her events. Kilpatrick did rally to a sixth-place finish though, in the 3,200 meters (two miles).
Sienna Brooks and Elina Smith also made it to the meet for the girls’ side of things and Simoens sees improvement in both runners, with Smith continuing her rapid rate of improvement, posting a personal record in the 800 meters.
“She’s gotten a lot stronger and a lot faster,” says Simoens.
Forrest Smith continued his reign in two distance events, placing first in the 3,200 meters with a time of 10:51.22 and then taking second place in the 1,600 meters (mile) with a time of 4:44.90.
Aiden Truettner joined Smith in the mile and despite suffering an asthma attack in the final 400 meters, managed to hold on to finish in fifth place with a time of 4:55.06.
“He just dropped when he crossed the finish line,” says Simoens. “The kid is pretty tough.”
Kaleb Schultz posted a personal record in the 200 meters with a time of 24.31 to finish in fourth and placed fifth in the 100 meters. Dakota Wiggins’ cross-training of playing hockey over the break paid off as he ran to a second-place finish in the 200 meters but was DQ’d in his other event for a false start. Kyle Boyle ran to an eighth-place finish in the 800 meters.
Michael Ryan, Quinn Winter and Liam Mortell carried the torch for the Titans in the field events, with Ryan competing in the long jump while Winter placed eighth in the high jump and Mortell finished fourth in the shot put.
The team heads to a big meet in Montrose on Friday, April 25. Simoens and the coaching staff got an idea of how the kids are looking after the break this week as they prepare for Montrose.
“Overall I was pleasantly surprised,” says Simoens. “I think, for the most part, the kids did the workouts we gave them. On the distance side of things everyone picked up pretty much right where they left off. The sprinters are a bit more across the board.”
Simoens is looking to see his athletes start cutting time off in Montrose and continue that trend into the post-season as the team shifts gears with their workouts.
“We’re going to emphasize speed and rest,” says Simoens. “Everyone should be setting personal records in the next couple of weeks.”