IHS gets State preview at Teeters Invite
Despite recording a half-dozen top-ten results in their final appearance before the 2024 CHSAA Track & Field State Championships, Ignacio’s Lady Bobcats got a fairly accurate preview of the grand finale as their work garnered only ten team points and a share of 17th place at the Dennis Teeters Tiger Invitational.
Hotchkiss-based North Fork also earned ten points at the two-day, 29-team meet, while 4A Montrose won the girls’ title with 92.5 accumulated points. 4A G.J. Central (74) came in second, with 4A Durango (68), 3A Pagosa Springs (67) and meet-hosting Grand Junction (66) about as close as competitors could get in pursuit of third place.
Senior Darlyn Mendoza-Lechuga placed sixth in the 300-meter hurdles, clocking a time of 50.23 seconds, and classmate Maci Barnes took sixth in the long jump with a best leap of 15 feet, 11 inches. She also earned seventh in the 800m run (2:26.57), while fellow senior Lauren deKay placed seventh in the pole vault (7’6”).
Barnes ended up ninth in the triple jump (31’11.25”), and IHS’ 800m sprint medley relay placed ninth in 2:01.45.
On the boys’ side, IHS managed just eight points and also tied for 17th, albeit with 4A Palisade.
Most of those came via freshman Cayson Burcham’s efforts in the 400- and 800-meter runs; he put down a 53.52 in the former and finished tenth, but improved at double the distance to fourth (2:01.07). He also helped the 3,200m relay log a sixth-place time of 8:46.43—well behind 4A GJHS’ winning 8:18.70, but tops amongst the few 2A-level teams entered.
Junior Kendrick Nossaman finished 14th in the 400, clocking 54.51 seconds, sophomore Trace Crane was 14th in the triple jump (37’2”) and sophomore Lincoln deKay was 14th in the pole vault (9’0”). Senior Kyle Rima placed 16th in the shot put (36’11”), and the 1,600m relay (3:41.69) ended up 15th.
Followed by Durango (87.33 points), GJHS (81), New Castle-based 3A Coal Ridge (56.5) and 2A Cedaredge (44), Montrose (112) emerged as the Invitational’s collective champion.
WHO’S ALL GOING: The State Championships will be held May 16-18 at Jefferson County Stadium in Lakewood.
Representing Ignacio in the Class 2A Boys’ competition will be Burcham (No. 7 seed in the 800) and deKay (No. 10 in the 110m hurdles, No. 17 in the 300m hurdles). Thanks to their Teeters time, the 4×8 relay—senior Corey Gomez, Crane, Nossaman, Burcham—also qualified and is seeded 14th behind 1-seed and defending event champ Peyton (whose 2024-best 8:24.08 is down from a State-winning 8:16.27 in ’23, but plenty impressive considering two runners graduated last spring).
Barnes will represent the Lady ’Cats in the 800 (No. 9 seed) plus long (No. 9) and triple (No. 17) jumps, while Mendoza-Lechuga will go in the 300m hurdles (No. 13) and sophomore Samantha Riddell in the high jump (No. 15).