The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
Testing the waters in a number of events
The Crested Butte Titans track team opened the 2015 season at the Panther Invite in Delta, Colo. on Saturday, March 14, and got a good idea of how the team looks so early in the season.
While outright victory eluded them throughout the day, several Titans rallied to score points with top-eight finishes in a number of events and proved that while not dominant in any particular event, they have a wealth of talent across the board.
Sam Crossett had the top finish among all Titans, placing second in the 3,200-meter event with a time of 14 minutes and 1 second. After working into third place on the heels of another runner, her opponent was forced to drop from the race, leaving Crossett on her own to maintain pace. Crossett settled in and rattled off four identical splits throughout the race to finish strong.
“She was in a huge space by herself, which is a tough place to be,” says coach Dustin Simoens. “But she’s tougher than nails and pushes herself harder than anyone on the team.”
Sydney Petersen had a great showing in her first high school meet, cracking the six-minute mark in the mile to place sixth. Simoens believes Crossett and Petersen should be a solid one-two punch all season for the Titans girls in the distance events.
“Sydney and Sam are neck-and-neck and will be battling all season,” says Simoens.
Sienna Brooks stood out among the sprinters with a third-place finish in the 100-meter hurdles and Malia Olson had a stout debut as well in her first high school meet, scoring points in all four events she entered.
The girls’ relay teams also rallied to place in three events with a third-place finish in the 4×200 meters, fourth in the 4×400 meters and seventh in the sprint medley.
On the boys’ side of things, it was a bit of trial-by-fire with some Titans new to track thrown into relay events. Fueled by pure determination, the boys relay team managed to place in two separate events with a third-place finish in the 4×100 and a sixth-place finish in the 4×400 meters.
“We’re really trying to push for a 4×100 and a 4×400 on the boys side making it to the state meet, so it was promising to see those results,” says Simoens.
Meanwhile, Quinn Winter jumped to a fifth-place finish in the high jump and Kaleb Schultz placed seventh in the 100-meter dash.
Simoens admits that the first meet is mostly about getting the kids used to how to prepare for their races and realizing how meets are run, but he saw more than he planned from his team in their first meet.
“I was really surprised with the meet and how we did as a whole,” says coach Dustin Simoens. “The main thing I wanted to see was the kids being competitive. It was good to see them more competitive and we hope to cultivate that competitive attitude.”
The Titans head to Center on Friday, March 20, where they will get their first glimpse of their league opponents and set a benchmark for success later this season when they meet them at regionals in May.
