The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
Sydney Petersen makes her mark
by Than Acuff
Heading into the league meet, the Crested Butte Titans track team had only one athlete qualified for the 2A state championships. Following the league meet, 12 more Titans (including two alternates) posted times fast enough to make the cut and it appeared the entire crew was peaking at just the right time as they headed to the 2A state championships May 19-21.
“I think they were as prepared as they could be,” says head coach Ben Davis. “They ran their best times to-date at league to qualify.”
With everything apparently clicking for the Titans, Davis used the three days of workouts prior to the state championships to make sure they were mentally ready. Fortunately, most of his runners had been there before, but states are the biggest stage for the runners and so Davis focused on keeping the team sharp and mentally prepared, yet still relaxed.
“It’s basically a waiting game until state,” says Davis. “I wanted them to stay loose, stay focused, but also rest, relax, calm their nerves and mentally prepare them for what was ahead.”
The championships opened on Thursday, May 19 with the Titans lining up for two events, the girls sprint medley and the boys 4×800-meter relay. Unfortunately, it ended up being “not a great day,” according to Davis.
Erika Bremer, Jamey Spahn and Tara Mortell all competed last year in the same event and were joined this year by Hope Freeman. While hopes were high, especially for the outgoing seniors, the race didn’t play out as hoped, as the Titans finished 17th, missing the cut for the finals, a tough close to the high school track careers of seniors Mortell, Bremer and Spahn.
“It was a little hard to get properly warmed up if you weren’t careful,” says Davis.
The boys 4×800-meter relay was later that day and while senior Aiden Truettner came in a veteran state championships participant, it was the first rodeo for Matthew Harper-Johnston, Hunter Wright and Tate Young. While the four teamed up to match their time from the league meet a week earlier, splits were inconsistent, as two runners improved on their best split times, including Truettner, while two others fell seconds shy of their previous best times. In the end the boys finished the day in 15th place.
“Three of them are returning, so there’s excitement for what’s to come,” says Davis.
Being Titans though, the relay teams shook off the disappointment and proceeded to rally to support their teammates Sydney Peterson and Sam Crossett as they lined up for the two-mile event early Friday morning.
“That’s when the fun began,” says Davis.
Both Peterson and Crossett stepped up their game for the state championships as Peterson posted a personal record (PR) time of 12:13.34 to place seventh and Crossett cut 16 seconds off of her PR to come in 12th, closing out her high school career in fine form.
“They killed it,” says Davis. “Definitely a successful morning.”
Peterson then lined up just after noon for the 800 meters and found herself embroiled in a knock-down, drag-out battle. Eighteen girls took off from the line and punched it from start to finish. Peterson was sitting in tenth after the first lap but kicked into a new gear on the second lap to move up into eighth place by the finish line.
“It was the most exciting race of all of states,” says Davis. “Eighteenth place to seventh place were all within a second of each other.”
But Peterson was not done just yet; she still had the mile to run on Saturday, May 21. She found herself in another hotly contested race and came out strong to move up into seventh place and hold that, posting a PR time of 5:30.
“It was another incredible race and placing seventh was a huge accomplishment,” says Davis.
With the state podium going nine deep for each event, Peterson was three-for-three with podium appearances when all was said and done.
“She had to run her best races and, Sydney being Sydney, knew that and did that,” says Davis. “Making state as a freshman and then getting on the podium as a sophomore, I could see her having a very successful high school career in track and taking it to the next level. She has it in her.”
With the season completed, the future looks bright for the Titan track team. While Davis is moving and will not be coaching next year, he believes the young team has a bright future, as half of the team this year were freshmen and a big group of eighth graders may join the ranks next year.
“They’re young but developing and the freshmen group performed really well all season,” says Davis. “I see it being a successful program in the next couple of years.”
On a side note, Lake City made headlines at the 1A state meet. A team without a track, the Lake City squad spends most of their time running the roads surrounding Lake City, with the occasional trip to Gunnison for workouts on a track. The boys and girls 4×800-meter relay teams both qualified for the state championships and then shocked the state, as both squads won state titles, the first state titles in the school’s long history.
