Eagle Valley high school hosted the 2023 Eagle Valley Invitational with 17 teams from around Colorado.
“I think we are finally turning it up,” commented head coach Hallie Blunt. “It has been so hard for the kids to be competitive as we have not had a lot of time on the actual track, but this week the kids really shined.”
The relay teams had some excellent performances at the Eagle Valley Invitational. The ladies 4×100 and 4×200 teams took third and are currently in the top 10 in the state. The boys team took fourth in 4×100 with a time of 46.33 seconds. | TIFFANY JEHOREK PHOTO
Two tracksters placed in the top six for the girls individual events.
Zoe Baldozier placed fourth in her first time ever competing in the 300 meter hurdles, she ran it in 54.90 seconds. Reese Clatterbaugh took fifth in triple jump going 30 feet seven inches.
The relay teams shined bright for the Cowboys. The 4×100 meter relay team of Natalie Kracht, Ainsley Selle, Addie Selle and Ellie Hossack took third. The 4×200 meter relay of Addie, Clatterbaugh, Ainsley, and Hossack also took third with a time of one minute 54.46 seconds, cutting five seconds from their previous personal record (PR). They are in the top 10 in the state. Finally the 800 meter sprint medley relay took fifth; running were Hossack, Kracht, Taylor Garcia, and Ainsley, with a time of two minutes 1.91 seconds. The medley was another five second improvement and the team is currently qualifying for state.
For the boys, the 4×100 meter relay of Brendan Clatterbaugh, Jon C
For the individual events, the Cowboys scored a lot of team points in pole vault and shot. In pole vault, Brink cleared a height of 12 feet three inches, setting another PR and taking second. Clatterbaugh took fifth with a height of 10 feet 9 inches, earning another PR, and Blunt took sixth, vaulting 10 feet 3 inches. In shot, Judd Harvey took second, increasing his best throw by over 12 inches to 42 feet 9.5 inches; he qualified for state with his 11th place ranking.
“We had 12 PR’s amongst the throwers,” commented Greg Cravens. “We will only continue to improve as we get more time in the ring.”
“It is really getting exciting to see how these kids are performing,” said Blunt. “They are working hard in practice each and every day and with what looks like a great week for weather we will be able to work on so much to keep them moving forward.”
This weekend is a big meet with big schools at Glenwood Springs. This will be the first meet of the year where they run finals instead of only preliminaries. Pole vaulters will compete Friday and the rest of the events will take place throughout the day on Saturday.
By TIFFANY JEHOREK – Special to the Herald Times
