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Moffat County track works out best lineup during Mickey Dunn Invite

Moffat County’s Sadie Dunckley vaults in the 100-meter hurdles.
Andy Bockelman/Craig Press

The early weeks of any track and field season involve some trial and error, as coaches find the right configuration of athletes in the right events. Moffat County High School is no exception as the group of runners, jumpers and throwers keeps building toward their best.

MCHS girls placed third and the boys took seventh during Friday’s Mickey Dunn Invitational, a return to Grand Junction’s Stocker Stadium that was smaller in scale and cooler in temperature compared to the setting a week earlier.

“That weather was just perfect for us,” said MCHS head coach Todd Trapp of the temperatures in the 60s compared to the readings in the 80s at the Warrior Wild West Invite. “When you think about the sprints, you want it warm so you can run your best races, but with distance, that can be really hard.”



MoCo saw individual wins in the boys 110-meter hurdles and 400 dash as senior Logan Hafey had another strong showing, recording times of 16.38 and 51.14 seconds in the two events, the latter of which was a personal best.

In the girls events, Halle Hamilton won the 100 dash (12.13) and 200 dash (27.24), and Emma Jones earned the gold in the high jump at 5 feet even.



The two seniors also won the 4×200 relay teamed with Alexis Jones and Mikah Vasquez at 1:50.06.

The relays for boys and girls are in the process of shuffling around as coaches determine who should be holding the baton and who will fare better in open sprints.

“We’re trying to work it so we can find out where everyone’s at once we’re putting together relays, we have times on every kid and everyone gets an opportunity to show what they have,” Trapp said. “It helps us gear up more for the end of the season and give them more opportunities in relays and see where their strengths are.”

The 800 sprint medley relay team of Quincy Lowe, Mikah and Antonia Vasquez and Lizzy LeWarne took third (2:02.32), while the foursome of Lowe, Ruby Short, Sadie Dunckley and Teya Miller took fifth in the 4×100 (54.84). For boys, the meet saw Andrew Duran, Zeke Alcantar, Trace Frederickson and Jimi Jimenez sixth in the 4×2 (1:38.07), while Kenny Fredrickson, Carlos Silva, and Alcantar were fifth in the 4×1 (47.67).

Moffat County's Bree Meats, Brook Wheeler and Emma Tucker round a corner in the 800-meter run.
Andy Bockelman/Craig Press

Outside of the relays, Bulldog runners medaled in the girls 400 dash as Emma Jones hit a 1:01.18 to place third. The teams also scored points from Hafey taking fourth in the boys 200 dash, Jimenez fifth in boys 400, LeWarne fifth in girls 300 hurdles, Dunckley sixth in girls 100 hurdles, Hudson Jones sixth in boys 300, and Miller seventh in the girls 800 run.

“It’s pretty exciting how they’re performing right now. A lot of kids are right at the position now where they were at the end of last year,” Trapp said.

In the girls field events, Alexis Jones was fifth and Caitlyn Adams seventh in the girls high jump, while Miller took seventh in girls long jump and Alexis Herndon eighth in the girls shot put.

Ian Trevenen and Wyatt Tucker ranked seventh and eighth in boys high jump, while Caleb Squires was seventh in boys shot.

Moffat County High School's Caleb Squires warms up in the discus throw.
Andy Bockelman/Craig Press

Monday saw a handful of MoCo athletes in the Delta JV Invite, with the strongest placements coming from Kirsten Peed third in the girls triple jump, Josefina Kuberry fourth in girls high jump, Mary Willems fifth in the girls 800, Wyatt Dade sixth in boys discus, and Noah Beeson in the boys 1600 run.

“We’re really young right now and building a lot of that mental toughness,” Trapp said.

This coming weekend will see varsity competitors at Palisade’s Phil Wertman Invite back at Stocker Stadium.

Trapp noted that the return to an early spring schedule comes with more of the preparation MoCo coaches are used to, seeing a variety of weather during practices.

“This is what it was like back in 2019. This is a normal season. You’re going to have those great days for workouts, and you’re going to have days where you have to struggle through it, push through the wind and cold,” he said. “Now that spring break is over, it’s just a push each and every week until the end of the season. Since we have a lot of young kids, we have to see who really wants those spots, especially on the guys side. We’ll keep plugging away and see where we’re at.”

Moffat County's Andrew Duran vaults takes the bend in the 200-meter run.
Andy Bockelman/Craig Press

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