A thrilling victory in the 800 sprint medley was a memorable highlight of the Yuma High School girls track and field team’s stay at the weather-delayed Class 2A Track and Field Championships, last Thursday through Sunday at Jefferson County Stadium in Lakewood.
The Indians ended up tied with Wiggins for 19th in the final team standings with 19 points. Cedaredge ran away with the 2A team title with 118 points, well ahead of second-place Dayspring Christian’s 71, which was well ahead of third-place Colorado Springs Christian’s 48.
The state meet began on Thursday as scheduled under great conditions.
Then the spring snow storm moved into the Front Range as predicted, causing the postponement of Friday’s schedule.
The meet finally resumed later on Saturday, coming to a conclusion on Sunday.
However, Friday proved to be quite memorable for the Yuma contingent.
It was late afternoon at Jeffco Stadium, with snow piled along the edge of the track on the football field when Fatima Duran, Lyndsey Mekelburg, Caddis Robinson and Lea Richardson lined up for the 800 sprint medley. The foursome had qualified for the finals in Thursday’s prelims with a fifth-place time of 1 minute, 55.47 seconds.
However, they let it all out Saturday afternoon in the final. Duran, Mekelburg and Robinson, running the two 100s and one 200, kept the Indians in the thick of the field. Richardson then took the baton and did her best impression of Kentucky Derby winner Rich Strike, navigating through the field as she made her one lap around the track, then coming up on the outside (instead of the inside like Rich Strike) to race past the last two runners and cross the finish line by a couple of steps.
The Yuma foursome’s winning time was 1:54.96.
That was not the only relay to place as the 4-by-400 team of Braylynn Armstrong, Hailey Eyring, Ashley Ibanez and Richardson, finished fifth on Sunday with a time of 4:20.97.
Richardson accounted for more points in the 400-meter dash. She was fourth in Thursday’s prelim with a time of 1:00.94. She was even faster in Sunday’s final, but placing sixth with a time of 1:00.73.
Dyhlani Perez placed third in the 100-meter Wheelchair Race on Thursday with a time of 26.88 seconds.
Mekelburg competed in the 100 hurdles and triple jump, and Duran in the pole vault. Duran, Eyring, Mekelburg and Robinson ran in the 4-by-100, Robinson, Ashley Ibanez, Eyring and Richardson in the 4-by-200, and Ibanez, Eyring, Myka McDonald and Samantha Wells in the 4-by-800.
