Titans track prepared for late season rally

Over the hump and on their way

The Titans track coaches just finished putting their athletes through the ringer last week as they spiked workouts in preparation for a late season rally. There was no rest for the weary at all as they rolled the workouts straight into their meet in Montrose on Friday, April 25.
“We had tough practices throughout the week and trained through the meet,” says coach Dustin Simoens. “It was by design. That was our last tough week of training and now we start tapering. Keep intensity high, just lower the volume.”
Typically, a week of training like that can ultimately hamper athletes at the subsequent meet but it did little to slow down the Titans as they recorded numerous personal records and set two new school records.
“Despite the tough week, we still did well across the board,” says Simoens.
Additionally, athletes were met with brutally windy conditions, which wreaked havoc on times in the distance events, while the sprinters managed to make the most of it.
“Anything over 200 meters was pretty affected,” says Simoens.
The biggest surprise of the day came from the boys 4×100-meter relay team. Simoens cobbled together a team for the Montrose meet that included Kaleb Schultz, Shawnee Landry, Dakota Wiggins and middle distance runner Kyle Boyle, who had never run a 100-meter dash before. While Simoens described their handoffs as “atrocious,” the new relay team posted a time of 45:40 to set a new school record.
“That was a surprising deal and we may have our team for the rest of the season now,” says Simoens.
Wiggins also placed fifth in the 200 meters in Montrose, Boyle took ninth in the 400 meters and the boys 4×200 finished in sixth place, while the 4×400 placed eighth.
Michael Ryan had the top Titan result in the field events, placing sixth in the triple jump.
The other school–record-setting effort of the day came from Monika Olesen. Olesen and Rosie Ewert have been trading off setting the school record in the 100 meters, with each one spending some time on the record board at the Community School. On Friday, Olesen reclaimed the record, posting a time of 13:07.
“It’s great, those two have been going back and forth all season,” says Simoens.
Suzanna Dumas posted a time of 29:18 in the 200 meters to finish in third with teammate Tara Mortell close behind in fifth place.
Despite the tough week and windy conditions, Elizabeth Kilpatrick put together her best effort of the season in the 3,200 meters, setting a new personal record and finishing in sixth.
“Her time has her flirting with qualifying for state right now,” says Simoens.
Other standout performances came from the girls 4×100 meter relay that placed fifth and Ali McGuire who took seventh in the triple jump.
Now the team looks to reap the rewards of their training, which has included Tuesday morning sessions before school, as they head to the annual Tiger Invite in Grand Junction on Friday and Saturday, May 2-3. The meet attracts 4A and 5A programs from around the state to the spectacular venue and Simoens expects his team to step up their game for the premier event.
“I think across the board we should see some great results with times coming down,” says Simoens. “Plus, the track is at 4,500 feet so it’s a really good meet for distance runners.”
Furthermore, preliminary heats and finals for sprint events are spread out over two days allowing runners more time to recover.
The Titans then head to regionals on Saturday, May 10 in Alamosa, followed by the state championships at Jeffco Stadium the weekend after that. As of this week, close to a third of the Titans squad are qualified for the state championships. More could punch their ticket in Grand Junction and at regionals.
“I think time-wise and event-wise, we’re right where we want to be,” says Simoens.