Crested Butte Titans track and field finish season at state

Shari Sullivan-Marshall wraps up Crested Butte coaching career

[ by Than Acuff ]

Nine Crested Butte Titans track and field athletes made the trip to compete in six events at the 2A state championships last weekend with the boys’ 4×800-meter relay team leading the way with a podium result, including senior Max Sullivan who racked up his third podium in a row in the event. In addition, senior Cody Pleak closed out his high school career qualifying for the championships in four different events.
The three-day meet started for the Titans on Thursday, May 14 with Pleak competing in the high jump. For most of the season Pleak entered the high jump at meets following a pretty rigorous day of running so hopes were high that Pleak would match his personal record height, and new school record height, of six feet.
Unfortunately, it didn’t play out as hoped. While Pleak cleared the first jump height, he fell short on his next three attempts finishing the day in 18th place.
“The high jump could have gone better but I’m still ending the season with the third highest jump in 2A,” says Pleak. “And high jump is not even my main event so I can’t be upset with my state meet.”
“He shook it off and joined his 4×8 (4×800-meter relay) teammates,” adds coach Shari Sullivan-Marshall.
Pleak, Sullivan and fellow seniors Colby Smith and Flint Hoyt then lined up for the 4×800-meter relay, an event that pits 18 relay teams against each other in one single race making for chaos through the first lap.
Hoyt kicked things off for the Titans and when he went to handoff to Smith, alongside so many other teams doing the same, they suffered a bit of a hiccup.
“The first handoff was a little shaky,” says Sullivan-Marshall. “That is the worst handoff of the race for everyone.”
Smith carried their momentum and when Sullivan and then Pleak took over, they worked the team back into a podium spot as Pleak passed a couple runners on the final lap to push the team into ninth place overall.
“It was really exciting to be a part of, in my opinion, the most exciting race,” says Pleak. “To have the fifth fastest split in the whole race and the podium is just the cherry on top.”
The first day then concluded for the Titans with the girls 400-meter preliminaries and senior Sophia Bender toeing the line. Prelimaries were divided into two heats, and it soon became apparent that Bender was in the strongest of the two heats.
“She was in the first heat which was absolutely crazy,” says Sullivan-Marshall. “Five runners in her heat ran under 60 seconds.”
Bender put down her second fastest time of the season, but it still wasn’t fast enough to reach the finals, and she finished 14th overall, up four spots from her seeding going into the state meet.
Pleak returned to his next event on Saturday morning, the 3200 meters, and ran a personal record time amidst a frantic pace but fell one spot short of the podium finishing in 10th place overall.
“Nine out of the 17 racing competing had their first mile under five minutes,” says Pleak. “This forced me to take a more aggressive strategy than I usually use but, in the end, this tactic gave me my fastest time and a very competitive second mile.”
“He put his nose in it and was right with the group,” adds Sullivan-Marshall.
But he wasn’t done yet as three hours later he lined up for his fourth and final event, the 800 meters. The 800 meters wasn’t even on Sullivan-Marshall’s radar for Pleak at the start of the season but his work throughout the year earned him a spot and he battled with another fast field to take 14th place.
“He definitely unlocked something in his overall speed this year,” says Sullivan-Marshall.
“It was four events in two days and because I did the high jump the first day, the 4×800 was on practically fresh legs,” says Pleak. “On the second day the 3200 was pretty much fresh and the 800 was the only race I struggled with.”
Crested Butte’s state run closed later that day with the girls’ 4×400-meter relay preliminaries. The Titans line up initially included seniors Ilo Hawley and Bender and freshmen Dari Spedden and Barbara Siqueira. Unfortunately, Hawley came down with strep throat and couldn’t race so Sullivan-Marshall called on freshman Haley Erickson to rise to the challenge. She did and the girls ran their second fastest time of the season but missed qualifying for the finals.
“They raced really well, and each leg did what they were supposed to do,” says Sullivan-Marshall.
The season and career closed for the four seniors at state and Pleak found this past year, and all four years, to be very rewarding.
“This season we had the smallest track team I’ve been a part of but also the most competitive,” says Pleak. “We brought six events and just missed out on three others making this one of the most exciting seasons to compete in and watch. I am really happy with how my high school career went and that I could be part of such an encouraging sports program.”
As for Sullivan-Marshall, this wraps up not only the season but also her tenure as both a 20-year cross-country coach and nine-year track and field coach for the Titans.
“The work ethic this year was definitely a notch above and having the track in the school district was awesome,” says Sullivan-Marshall. “There was no ego, it was all about what was good for the team. Everyone’s accomplishments and successes were celebrated by the team, it was a great culture. It’s taken a while, but track is back in Crested Butte.”
And while Sullivan-Marshall will be in London back in the classroom teaching third grade, she will be keeping an eye on the Titans from abroad.
“I’ll be checking times on milesplit,” she says.