The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
Boys 4×800-meter relay step on podium, again
[ by Than Acuff ]After 12 weeks of training and racing, seven Crested Butte Titans track and field athletes finished up their seasons, and for three of them their high school careers, at the 2A Colorado State Championships on Thursday, May 15.
Just making it to the big show is enough of an accomplishment with only the top 18 punching through out of anywhere from 150 to 300 athletes vying for those coveted 18 spots in each event. And while it can be a bit unnerving for high school athletes to step into the state spotlight, the Titans had experience on their side and a general composure that they’ve maintained all season.
“They are all very level-headed and are good at keeping things light,” says coach Shari Sullivan-Marshall. “Most of them had competed before so they knew what to do which was great and they were all in a great space. Of course, once you get there, it’s full on.”
Seniors Sam Bullock, Finn Veit and Giles Billick and junior Max Sullivan carried the Titans colors in the 4×800-meter relay race with seniors Kenny Bullock and Jake Pendy there as alternates while junior Cody Pleak qualified in the high jump.
For the first time ever, the boys 4×800-meter team made it to the state championships last year with Sam, Sullivan, Pendy and Billick teaming up to finish on the podium in eighth place. This year, Pendy had to step down from that team due to injury and illness interrupting much of his senior year, so Veit stepped in this season to join Sam, Sullivan and Billick.
“It was definitely useful having the experience from last year as to what the race was going to be like and despite the issues around sickness we had, the team was excited to run and ready to race as hard as they could,” says Billick.
The 4×800 relay race is pure chaos at the state championships as 18 teams line up on the nine-lane track, two runners per lane, for the opening leg. The opening runners must stay in their initial “alley” until they hit the first turn on the first lap and can then move into the first or second lane as runners vie for positioning before taking their second lap and then handing the baton off for the second leg.
“We knew every handoff was going to be a mob, especially the first one, so we practice that chaos as much as we can,” says Sullivan-Marshall. “It makes for a crazy and exciting race.”
“With 18 people on the track it is definitely a chaotic race,” adds Billick. “The later relay legs have an easier time but I do know that Max, our second leg, had to dodge and weave through people after his hand off. It was nice to have so many competitors though, with 5th place through 18th place seeded within 10 seconds the team knew there were people to race and were ready for the competition.”
Sam ran the opening leg and after spending much of the first lap around 14th place, he started passing people to move up into ninth place when he handed the baton to Sullivan. Sullivan took the baton and after a quick little hop and sidestep to avoid other runners, he reeled a couple more teams in and handed off to Veit for the third leg. Veit remained in the mix and passed the baton to Billick to seal the deal for the Titans and he remained on point on the final leg to seal the Titans’ sixth place finish, two spots up and five seconds faster than last year’s state performance.
“The team performed well, everyone ran within two seconds of each other and worked their role,” says Billick. “The entire relay team did have to work through injuries and sickness this spring which definitely held us back a bit, yet everyone still rose to the occasion and pushed themselves as hard as they could, managing to place on the podium in the top six.”
“Every leg did what they needed to do,” adds Sullivan-Marshall. “Kenny and Jake did their jobs getting warmed up with the team as well and keeping the energy. It was a team effort to get that podium spot, all six contributed.”
The team then turned their attention to Pleak who was making his first showing in the high jump at the state championships, an event that is notoriously tense with the mat close to one area of the track and kids trying to focus on their jumps while runners are racing by and fans cheering for any number of events going on at the same time.
“The high jump at state is intense,” says Sullivan-Marshall. “I think it took Cody a second to get his bearings.”
Pleak failed to clear the bar on his first two of three attempts at the starting height but nailed his third jump to advance only to come up short at that next height finishing the day in 13th place.
“There are 150 high jumpers in all of 2A so 13th in the state is huge,” says Sullivan-Marshall. “He’s super psyched for next year.”
Speaking of next year, the Titans will lose 10 athletes to graduation, including four-year track members Sam, Kenny, Pendy and Billick.
“That’s a huge hole left in our distance and mid-distance events and relays,” says Sullivan-Marshall. “They have taught a great work ethic, and I’m really excited my underclassmen had them as role models. It was a successful 2025 state meet and has us plotting for next year.”
“The season was good overall, but sickness struck the team a couple of times taking many runners out,” says Billick. “The track team did work hard and put all their effort into the season which is all you can ask for given the struggles that affected everyone who ran. It’s been a pleasure to be a part of the team throughout my time in high school.”
