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Girls win; boys take fourth

Melinda Mawdsley

The Steamboat Springs girls track and field team took first, and the boys took fourth at the Delta Invitational on Saturday.

Neither the girls nor boys yielded their full teams, as athletes continue to transition from winter to spring sports or recover from injuries. But those who did travel to Hotchkiss for the meet Saturday were greeted by positive results and balmy March conditions in Southern Colorado.

“It was hot,” Steamboat coach Andy Reust said. “On the track, it was probably 85 degrees. The heat was radiating off it, and the black track makes it worse.”



On the boys’ side, senior Tyler Johnson attempted a feat few would try so early in the season. Johnson ran the open 100-, 200- and 400-meter events, which included preliminary and final heats in all three.

Johnson took second in the 100 meters, finishing in 11.37 seconds after stumbling out of the blocks. Johnson also finished second in his first 400 of the season, running a 52.94. Johnson capped off his trio of open events with a third-place finish in the 200 with a 23.83.



“He had nothing left,” Reust said. “He willed himself to that finish. This early in the season, that was quite awesome, as hot as it was. I’d like to see another kid do that this early.”

Freshman Matt Hill took first in the 800 meters to represent Steamboat’s lone champion on the boys’ side. He ran a 2:19.

Steamboat entered four boys in the open 400. Behind Johnson, junior Russell Ruppert came in fourth (54.94), Hill came in fifth (56.26), and senior Matt Legrice came in sixth (56.94).

Sophomore Clay Whiddon jumped 34 feet, 10 1/2 inches to take fifth in the triple jump and jumped 17-11 3/4 inches to take seventh in the long jump.

Senior Austin Madsen finished sixth in the shot put with a throw of 39-4 1/2 inches.

The Steamboat girls followed a March 13 third-place finish in Grand Junction with a top showing at Hotchkiss, scoring 134 points to defeat Hotchkiss and Montrose.

The Sailors’ sprint medley team of sophomore Missy Chotvacs, sophomore Hannah Bowers, freshman Patricia Henderson and sophomore Jessica Peters came in first with a time of 1:53.19, shaving two seconds off last week’s time.

Peters also won the 200 in 26.06 and took first in the high jump, clearing 5-2.

Chotvacs won the triple jump with a leap of 33-6 1/2 inches, nearly equaling her top distance from last year. She also took fourth in the long jump with a jump of 14-9.

Junior Mackenzie Frank finished second in the 300-meter hurdles with a time of 50.62, which was nearly five seconds faster than her top time last season. Frank also came in third in the 100 hurdles with a time of 17.25.

Junior Kayla Kostur came in second in the triple jump with a jump of 31-6. Kostur also cleared 4-10 on the high jump to place second for Steamboat.

Junior Jennifer Hooper ran a 5:52 for a third-place finish in the 1,600 meters. She also finished third in the 3,200 meters with a 13:09.

Steamboat’s 1,600-meter relay team of junior Danielle Tredway, freshman Erin Gleason, Frank and junior Kelli Parnell took third with a time of 4:50.

Henderson finished fourth in the 100 meters with a 13.32 and came in fourth in the 200 in 27.15.

Sophomore Tara King finished fourth in her first high school 800-meter race with a time of 2:42.

Steamboat’s 3,200-meter relay team of Gleason, senior Lindsay Stanford, junior Katie Conrath and Hooper took fourth.

Junior Stacy Cavanagh also took fourth in the triple jump with a leap of 31-2.

Conrath finished fifth in the 3,200 meters and seventh in the 1,600 with times of 14 minutes and 6:03, respectively.

Bowers came in fifth in the 100 hurdles in 18.38.

Steamboat returns to Hotchkiss for a meet Saturday that is expected to draw more large schools than last Saturday’s meet.

— To reach Melinda Mawdsley call 871-4208 or e-mail mmawdsley@steamboatpilot.com


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