Dolores figures to have a few more relay wins to celebrate in 2011. Photo by Paul Jaeger.
Tucked away in the southwest corner of the state is one consistenty good track team--the Dolores girls. As good as they are, they still seem to sneak up on people at state. I'm blowing their cover early this year.
Cover blown or not, they will still fly mostly under the radar until state. Things tend to work that way when you run all of your meets in places like Cortez, Bayfield, Aztec, and Pagosa Springs. The San Juan Basin, though it fits in the near-rectangle that is Colorado, is geographically isolated from the rest of the state--few venture in, few venture out during track season.
Last year, the Bears finished fourth at state, relying heavily on relays (39 points, including a 50.57 victory in the 4x100), and adding ten points in individual events--seven points in the 100 and another three points in the 100 hurdles. As good as last year's relay production was, they will need more points from individual points this year. The maximum you can score from relays is 50 and both Lyons and Akron figure to be splitting up some of those 50 with Dolores (and perhaps a couple of other schools), plus adding a bunch on in individual events.
Dolores probably would have fared better at state with middle distance ace Rachel Beverlin running, but the end of the season was not kind to Beverlin. If Beverlin can return to her old form, the points she can contribute at 800 and 1600 meters will be crucial to Dolores's hopes.
Mostly, however, Dolores runs a sprints/hurdles/jumps kind of program. And that is where they look to do the most damage.
Sophomore Cassie Lard might have the kind of 200 speed to creep into a point or two as an individual, but is probably better suited to relays. She is, however, a definite potential scorer at state in both the long and triple jump.
Lexi Atkinson holds down the lion's share of the sprint hopes for Dolores, entering the season as the 2A #2 seed in the 100. Her long jumps indicate she has plenty of potential to score points in the sand as well. You have to figure, though, that Dolores will use Atkinson's speed on at least two relays. It appears that she ran three relays and the 100 at state last spring.
Mindy McCracken will add some snap and experience on relays, but could be a third potential scorer for Dolores in the long jump. Cydney McHenry figures to be a fixture on relays, perhaps adding the 300 hurdles to her season's repertoire.
That leaves Maniesha Buck to contribute from the throwing rings. Buck missed state in both events last spring, but should be capable of changing that picture this spring. 2A throws took huge hits to graduation and attrition to the 1A ranks, so both fields should be wide open this spring.