University's Sam Hutchison and Greeley Central's Ali Hassan battle for the lead in the 800 in Saturday's action in Greeley. Photo by Mike D'Amato.
Of course, a handful of teams and individuals took advantage of the scheduling break and headed toward warmer climes. Doherty and some unattached entries marced off to the 2009 Las Vegas Track and Field Classic. ThunderRidge participated in the Chandler Rotary Invitational, and Crested Butte's Jack Linehan turned up at the Florida State Relays. There was probably another team or two that traveled out of state but escaped my notice.
Closer to home, the two biggest performances earlier in the week were both turned in by distance runners. Andrew Roberts of Lyons posted the best 1600 time of the season to date by clocking a 4:23 at the RE-1J District Meet. And, Natosha Rogers of Dakota Ridge did the same in the girls 3200 by going 11:17 in the Jeffco 5A Meet. Pomona's Jon Gamble cleared 6-6 in the high jump at the same meet.
Shortly thereafter, the weather headed seriously south.
In the meets that did take place this weekend, two teams added themselves to the list of schools making March statements of intent to compete when the state championships roll around in May.
At the Cedaredge Invitational, Gunnison pulled out the stops and left the field, including a handful of 4A schools, in disarray. The Cowboy girls/Cowgirls/Lady Cowboys (in case you're wondering, I'm not sure what the correct term is and am trying to cover the bases) got first places from Lindsay Hart in the 100 and 300 hurdles, Lisa Lucas in the shot put, while the 4 X 200 and 4 X 400 relays schooled the competition.
In truth, Delta had six first places, including three by sprinter Alicia Gieck and two by jumper Katie Chapman, but lacked Gunnison's depth which brought home the team trophy. Delta's boys did bring home the team title.
At their own invitational, the Greeley Central girls were simply dominant. Like Gunnison, however, the Tigers did it on depth. The only individual titles Greeley Central won were in the 4 X 100, 4 X 800, and Allison Parks in the 3200.
Rampart, led by Devin Mohn's victories in the 100, 200, and 400, finished 8.5 points ahead of second-place Loveland on the boys side.
Individually, Sierra's Samantha Thompson posted 2:16 and 5:04 times in the 800 and 1600 to raise the stakes in those two events just a little. Sara Benson clocked a 46.27 over the 300 hurdles under less-than-ideal conditions.
Tuesday is the big make-up day with at least the Eaton/University and Fort Collins meets scheduled to take place in the afternoon.