Tiffany Confer, Buena Vista High School, competed in the 1600 and 3200 races at the Florence Husky Invitational today, finishing fifth in the 3200 in a time of 14:00.0. Photo by Alan Versaw.
There was a day and a time, not very long ago in fact, when people with disabilities had little or no opportunity on the high school sports scene. While that was true it Colorado, our state was not at all unique. For the most part, high school sports existed behind a closed door for these members of society.
Today, March 27, 2010, Buena Vista's Tiffany Confer proved that she could compete with her peers on a 400-meter oval. Confer finished the 1600 in 7:34.6 and then came back later in the afternoon to complete the 3200 in 14:00.0. Diminished winds later in the day helped make racing a little friendlier by the time of the 3200.
It's apparent that Confer will be appearing in many additional races this spring.
In so doing, Confer helped her team to a fourth-place finish at the Florence Husky Invitational. The Demons picked up wins in the sprint medley relay and by Alex Heller in the triple jump.
Originally scheduled to host 12 teams, the meet size diminished on Friday night and early Saturday morning as several El Paso County schools, battered by yet another spring storm, withdrew from the meet. Conditions for the meet itself were quite reasonable by March standards, however. A few stray flakes flew early in the meet and 10 - 20 mph winds persisted most of the morning, but eventually gave way to sunshine and calmer conditions.
The Classical Academy took advantage of those calmer conditions to win the team titles in both the boys and girls divisions of the meet. Buena Vista finished a strong second among the boys and a solid 2A entry from Del Norte claimed second among the girls. Most of the teams present at the meet were missing at least a few key athletes due to spring break schedules.