Fittingly, a 'B' and another 'B'-sprinter Brian Mashak and hurdler Brady Fields-stepped up to lead Wolverine track and field at the 2014 Aztec B&B Invitational.
But a third and bigger 'B' contributed two of BHS' four individual bests at the two-day meet, in helping Bayfield to a strong third-place showing; the boys' 60 points had them trailing only the hosting 4A Tigers' 74 and 4A Farmington 123 last Saturday in the 11-squad standings.
Heaving the shot 43 feet, two inches, and the discus 137'4", junior Aubry Brown not only placed second in each throwing discipline, he helped the Wolverines become the hunted-Bayfield had a one-point lead (22-21) on 3A Intermountain League rivals Pagosa Springs through five events-on Day 1.
Brown was bettered only by PSHS' Creede Wylie (shot put of 45'7", discus throw of 140'6.5").
Crucial points also came from junior Trevor Gabbard's third-place 10:36.34 in the 3,200-meter run, Conner Kennedy's third-place 5'10" high jump, and Blane Barnes' fourth-place 119'3" in the discus.
Mashak's fourth in the 200-meter dash preliminaries on Day 1 improved to a final position of third on Day 2, though his 23.85 time in the heats slowed-no small thanks to worsening weather-to a 25.28. Fields' 17.63 in the prelims of the 110-meter hurdles was seventh, but he too improved his finish to a fifth despite also clocking a slower [18.54 seconds] time on Day 2.
Aiding the ladies greatly in their fourth-place (31.5 points) showing was Jessica Cusick. She nearly replicated her Day 1 dash in the 400 in Day 2's conditions, registering a third-quickest 1:01.83 in her heat race and then a 1:03.81 in the finals to take second.
Also competing from one day to the next inside Fred Cook Memorial Stadium was Jessie Roukema, whose fifth-place status in the 200's prelims was unchanged after its finals, though her initial 28.47 slowed to a 30.32.
The AHS girls' place atop the points pyramid also went unchanged, and the Lady Tigers' total accrued to a winning 157-leaving FHS' 73 nowhere close and PSHS' 61 even further behind.
Clearing 8'6", BHS' Brittany Hunter tied for third in the girls' pole vault, Cusick was third in the 800 with a 2:47.59, and the 4x100 relay [Morgan Allred, Amy Roach, Roukema, Ashlyn Schulder] was also third with a 52.99 group effort.
Roukema was second in the high jump with a 5'2" best (Amber Johnson was fourth at 4'8"), and helped-with Johnson, Jessica Kirk, and Hunter-the 4x200 relay place fifth in 1:58.35. Johnson (28'6") and Jade Sanders (25'6.75") went 5-6 in the triple jump amongst Colorado entrants, while Allred tied for sixth (13'5.25") and Tori Tate was eighth (12'6.75") in the long jump.
Thrower Katie Hawkins threw a sixth-place 87'11" in the discus.
For the Bayfield boys, the 4x1 relay of Mashak, John Arnold, Nate Tate and Gabe Kaufmann was second in 46 seconds flat. The 4x2, however, was anything but flat; the same four runners laid down a 1:37.81 and left San Juan County, N.M., with first place.
Top B&B billing also went to pole vaulter Michael Voss, whose 13'6" was unmatched and, ironically, equaled Aztec's school-best-set during the Lyndon B. Johnson Administration in 1965!
Kennedy's 18'1.75" long jump was third-best among CHSAA-minded competitors-the Invitational was a State Championships qualifier-and BHS got additional top-ten results from:
The 4x400 relay (3rd, 3:53.62), the 1,600 medley [Jackson Sibley, Dylan Smith, Jessie Westbrook, Josh Westbrook; 6th, 4:32.66], Alex Knight (8th, 3,200m, 11:25.97), Fields (6th, 5'8") and Voss (T-8th, 5'6") in the high jump, Ty Meyers in the pole vault (T-8th, 11'0"), Arnold in the long jump (9th, 17'3.5"), and Barnes in the shot (8th, 38'8").
Incidentally, Roach, Schulder and Allred were 10-11-12 (14.28, 14.37, 14.50, respectively) in the prelims of the girls' 100, and Johnson (29.20) and Maddi Foutz (29.25) were 10-11 in the 200's prelims. Foutz, definitely more well-known for her volleyball exploits, was also tenth-quickest in the 400's heat races with a 1:05.75.
Hawkins and Allred were 7-8 in the pole vault, clearing 8 feet and 7'6" respectively.
Up next, the Wolverines will go to Pagosa's Terry Alley Invitational tomorrow for a 9 a.m. start.
