Meeker girls finish second in MoCo, boys finish third

MEEKER I “We had some great performances in the warm weather at Moffat County,” Meeker head track coach John Strate said of his team’s most recent competition.
“A number of athletes moved further up in the state standings and solidified their position (top 18 times and distances qualify for the Colorado State Track and Field Championships) with two weeks remaining in the regular season.”

The Meeker girls finished second in the Friday afternoon meet and the boys placed third as a team.
“The day started with an impressive performance from the 800-meter medley relay team of Aly Ridings, Jordan Brown, Sydney Hughes and Linda Olivas,” Strate said. The medley relay team won the event and finished with a time putting them in the top 18.
“Linda ran a great 400 in the last leg,” Strate said. Olivas went on to win the 200-meter dash and Brown won the high jump.
Strate said “valuable team points” were scored when Hughes, Ridings and Piper Haney finished one, two and three in the triple jump, respectively.
Junior Ohana Mataia had a big day, winning the shot put and discus throw, helping the Lady Cowboys earn a second-place finish.
Meeker freshman sprinter T.J. Shelton “ran the best race of the season,” according to his coach, in the 100-meter dash, with a time of 11.46 seconds, which is currently the third best in the state. Shelton also ran on the 4×100 relay team with Tala Atoafa, Anthony Watt and Jeff Wagner, finishing with the second-best time in the state.
Ataofa also ran a personal best in the 110-meter hurdles, winning the event and placing himself “comfortably” into the top 18 times.
Meeker’s distance runners also ran well in Craig, where Aaron Cochran had a “decisive victory” in the 800-meter and Caleb Lange continued to take time off his 1,600-meter, placing fourth.
Coach Strate hopes jumper and sprinter Jake Phelan will return to action this week, but he was still recovering from a hamstring injury and did not compete in Craig.
The Cowboys will compete in Battle Mountain on Saturday in the final meet of the regular season.