Titan track sets sights on 2010 season

First test this Saturday at Panther Invitational

It’s coach Laura Puckett’s second season coaching the Crested Butte Titans track team and she already sees a difference from her athletes the second time around.

She has 20 athletes out for the team this year and there’s potential across the board, from the incoming freshman to the returning upperclassmen.
“We’re much further along this year,” says Puckett. “People seem stronger.”
From opening day of the track season on March 1, Puckett noticed a difference that goes beyond the physical realm, a key difference that will allow Puckett to get her athletes to reach their potential and perhaps go even further.
“Mentally the team came in very strong,” says Puckett. “There’s an increase in dedication, drive and attitude. This year on day one I had girls coming up to me saying they want to break school records.”
The team used the first week of pre-season workouts to find out, approximately, where everyone stood as far as times in a variety of distances.
“I wanted to see how fast they could run, off the couch,” says Puckett.
Granted the time trials were held on the muddy roads of Crested Butte, yet they still provided a base from which the athletes could work.
During week two the team shifted gears to interval and strength work and readied themselves for the opening meet of the season, the Montrose Icicle Invitational on Saturday, March 13.
The opening meet was more of an orientation endeavor than a true track meet.
“It was the first time some of them had seen a track,” says Puckett. “It was a chance to show them how a meet works. It was very low-key but it was awesome.”
Furthermore, the Icicle Invitational provided a chance for Puckett to get official times on her athletes for seedings at future meets.
Puckett already sees some bright spots after the two weeks of training and one meet.
Senior Ricky Sandoval had a standout performance in Montrose breaking his personal records from last year.
“He’s off to a flying start,” says Puckett. “We’re really excited about his season.”
Freshman Abby Whiting appears to have made the jump to high school track rather easily, running in four events at the meet and finishing seventh in her first high school 100-meter dash.
Puckett also saw some relay teams starting to gain ground this early in the season.
“I’ve got a crew of girls in the short distance relays who are ready to break some records,” says Puckett. “As a team they’re very strong.”
While Crested Butte is known for strong distance runners, Puckett lost some distance runners from last year. State champion junior Erin Kelly is back but the rest of her distance crew is still in the development phase.
Nevertheless, Puckett remains excited about the future of the Titans distance runners.
“Building depth is equally as important as having front runners,” says Puckett. “There’s improvement already.”
Puckett is joined by returning assistant coach Dustin Simoens who specializes in the short distance events and new assistant coach Zach Pirraglia, a former Colorado high school stand-out in the 200-meters.
To help speed up the track orientation process, Puckett takes the team to Gunnison every Tuesday to work-out on their track free of snow and ice.
The Titans will head to Delta this Saturday, March 20 for the Panther Invitational, the first chance for Titans to pre-qualify for the state meet in May.