Girls’ team earns fourth, boys’ take sixth at meet

MEEKER I Chilly temperatures and strong winds at the Clint Wells Invitational at Moffat County High School Friday, April 27 did not stop the Meeker High School track and field team from having a solid day against most of the big schools from Northwestern Colorado.
The girls’ team had most of the highlights from the day, finishing in fourth place out of the 12 schools attending. Glenwood Springs won the meet, followed by Eagle Valley and Fruita Monument. For the girls to place among such large schools is a great accomplishment.
The team was led by senior Kathryn Doll, winning three events and placing fourth in the 4×100 meter relay with Linda Olivas, Sydney Hughes and Aly Ridings. Doll triple jumped a season-best mark of 36-4 into the wind.
Also scoring points in their events were Sydney Hughes and Aly Ridings. Hughes hurdled her way to third place in the 300-meter hurdles and sixth place in the 100-meter hurdles. She also earned sixth place in the triple jump with her mark of 30-1. Ridings had an equally impressive day, placing in the 100-meter hurdles, the long jump and the triple jump, all while fighting through injury. Other exciting performances of the day included Mariah Jensen earning points in the long jump, Bailey Atwood continuing her success in both of the throwing events along with Ohana Matia scoring points in each one.
The boys’ team also traveled to Moffat County and earned sixth place out of the 12 teams attending. The highlights of the day were the jumpers: Tala Atoafa earned third place in the triple jump and Jake Phelan earned third in the triple. They also contributed on the 4×100 and 4×200 meter relays along with Toby Casias and Anthony Watt. Casias, running with a sore knee, was able to earn points in the 100-meter dash as well. Gable Smith had a break-out day in the high jump, clearing 5-6 to place sixth, earning his first points for the team this season in an individual event. Lathrop Hughes added points in the 3200-meter run, along with scoring points as a member of the 4×800 meter relay team of Aaron Cochran, Anthony Watt and Caleb Lange. Bailey Mantle braved stiff winds to run a personal best in the 800-meter run.
Next week takes the team to Battle Mountain High School in Edwards for one last competition before the Western Slope League Meet in Grand Junction.