Pueblo – Even after winning the 100 meters at the Class 2A girls state track and field championships the past three years, Halley Parks of Paonia wasn’t among the pre-meet favorites this year.
At no surprise to her, but maybe a surprise to others, Parks made it four sprint titles in a row Saturday at Dutch Clark Stadium.
The 18-year-old senior turned in a winning time of 12.59 seconds in the 100, but walked away from the state meet without a state record.
“I thought today the competition was good enough for a record, but I guess I wasn’t pushed enough,” Parks said. “I didn’t have any idea what was going to happen when I was freshman, but I’ve never been ranked first in the four years.
“When the gun goes up, I think I’m going to win.”
There wasn’t any lack of confidence on the part of the Limon Badgers, who raced to a third consecutive 2A team championship with 83 points.
The Peyton Panthers won the 2A boys team title with 65 points. For coach Gary Vandemark, it was the first state title in his 14 years at the helm for the Panthers, led by firsts by Brent Neleen, (400), Travis Slanford (800) and the 1,600 relay team.
“We knew we would be in the thick of things,” Vandemark said. “We had a good senior nucleus.”
Limon coach Dave Grimes hadn’t thought past team depth all season.
“All year long I didn’t want to talk about individuals,” Grimes said. “They all are too good not to mention all of the them. We won all four relays today and that helped a lot. It was a great day.”
The Badgers set state 2A records in the 800-medley relay and the 800 relay. The Limon girls also got first-place points from Whitney Liggett in the 300 hurdles.
Emily Hanna of Fountain Valley won the 100 hurdles in record time (14.50) and the high jump.
It was a top-notch performance considering Fountain Valley doesn’t have a track and team members travel to Widefield High School to practice.
“The hurdles are my favorite event,” said Hanna, who helps on the family’s cattle ranch near Fountain.
Irv Moss can be reached at 303-820-1296 or imoss@denverpost.com.
