Crossing the finish line behind only 2A Dolores' Jordan Elder and Josie Bernholtz, Ignacio senior Jaylynn Herrera finished third in the 400-meter dash. Her performance helped the Bobcats to a tenth-place finish at the May 6 Terry Alley Invitational in Pagosa Springs.
Bernholtz easily won the sprint in one minute, 3.95 seconds, but Herrera (1:06.49) gave Elder (1:06.34) a literal run for runner-up status. Herrera also placed sixth in the long jump with a 13'11.75" best, and added a tenth in the 200 meters (31.61 seconds) as IHS totaled 23.5 team points.
The hosting 3A Pirates won with 126.5, 2A Del Norte earned second with 112 and 3A La Jara Centauri followed with only 63.
Fifth in the 200 with a 30.56 effort, sophomore Kiana Valdez also took third in the high jump (4'5") and came in 14th in the 100 (14.92).
Splitting her last spring as a 'Cat with the track-and-field team as well as the soccer squad, Rachel Cooper took 16th in the 200 (33.50), 11th in the 100m hurdles (20.58) and eighth in the 300m variety as the last entrant to finish in fewer than 60 ticks (59.17).
Fellow senior Lea Monroe scored fifth-place points for Ignacio in the pole vault (6'8"), while sophomore Briana Duran finished ninth in the discus (80'5") and 14th in the shot put (24'7").
Up next for IHS will be Saturday's Monte Vista Last Chance which, like the name indicates, will be the final meet in which athletes can qualify for the 2017 CHSAA Class 2A State Championships, May 18-20 inside Jeffco Stadium in Lakewood.
TERRY ALLEY INVITATIONAL GIRLS' STANDINGS: 1.Pagosa Springs 126.5, 2.Del Norte 112, 3.La Jara Centauri 63, 4.Monte Vista 61.5, 5.Alamosa 56, 6.Dolores 49.5, 7.Dove Creek 46, 8.Mancos 31, 9.BAYFIELD 24, 10.IGNACIO 23.5, 11.Ouray 22, T-12.Mosca Sangre de Cristo & Creede 13.
